VIDEO: Specialist Alex Knauer of the 1051st Firefighter Tactical Group is one of seven Montanans at Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria. He is there as part of a year long deployment to help fight fires and provide emergency services for the training area.
Knauer said they've been in Bulgaria for a couple of weeks. He said they started their shifts last week.
It's something we all love doing," Knauer said. "It's not easy, but we are all a pretty tight knit group. We're basically a second family, in a sense, so we're always there for each other." Knauer said right now they are providing firefighting services for the training area with the possibility of more duties in the future.
"We are actually currently in the works with some mutual aid agreements with Bulgarian fire departments nearby off-base," he said. "So, we may potentially be able to go help out."