From March 8 -17, 2018, a multinational training and exercise event for Mine Safety Appliance, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) maintenance and hazardous materials (HAZMAT) handling was facilitated by the Michigan Air National Guard at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Mich.
The 80-hour HAZMAT curriculum, certified by the State of Michigan and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), was attended by five military firefighters from Latvia and two aircraft maintenance officers from Bulgaria.
The Latvian participants are from Lielvarde Air Base, the primary military airfield in Latvia which supports NATO, U.S. and Latvian air operations in Latvia and the Baltic region. The Bulgarian Air Force personnel hail from Graf Ignatievo Air Base. Since 2013, Lielvarde’s fire department has been working with Michigan Air National Guard counterparts under the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program (SPP) while Bulgaria is partnered with Tennessee.