RAF firefighters help Army clear Helmand road of IEDs
7 Apr 10
When heavy floods caused problems for a Royal Welsh unit clearing a major road in Helmand of IEDs recently, they turned to an RAF Firefighting team to give them a hand.
Members of Fire Support Company of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) search for IEDs along Route Dorset
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
The Fire Support Company of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) had been trying to clear Route Dorset in the Nad-Ali district of Central Helmand from Improvised Explosive Devices for 23 days so that local Afghans could have freedom to move to schools and bazaars in the area.
However when farmers had dammed up wadi's (drainage ditches) to irrigate their fields water had seeped onto the road as well causing it to flood.
Additionally, craters had been created in the road caused by an IED triggered by a US Thor vehicle which had killed one US soldier.
This had left large pools of stagnant water one metre deep in places.
Not sure if IEDs were beneath the water, 28 Engineering Support Group, attached to the Royal Welsh unit, and the RAF Firefighters hatched a plan to use a reinforced digger to use as a platform for a fireman to stand in whilst they placed their hoses into the pool to suck away the water.
Members of the RAF Firefighting team drain the route and crater from a previous IED explosion
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
A wrongly placed hose might detonate a pressure plate.
It was also unpleasant work given firefighters Corporal Mike Broadley and Corporal Jim McInally were working all day in 35 degree heat in full body armour breathing in generator fumes in the bucket.
At one point Cpl Broadley came under fire whilst in the bucket, luckily with rounds hitting the digger windscreen and not him:
"It was a bit hairy," he said, "given that the bucket was not armoured."
However, the firemen carried on, draining 100,000 litres of water in total.
This allowed the Counter IED team to check the muddied road and they found two IEDs lurking in the sludge.
It was considered a real team effort between the Royal Welsh Fire Support Team who provided outstanding Force Protection, the engineers who tested and adjusted the digger in line with the generator, hose and fireman, and the C-IED team who searched in squelching, difficult conditions.
One of the two IEDs the Counter IED team discovered in the sludge of the murky water
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
And of course the firemen who could have sucked up an IED at any time.
It was an experience that left a lasting impression on the four RAF firemen:
"Working so closely with the Army has been great," said Corporal Jim McInally
"These boys are the ones that risk their lives day in, day out and live out in basic conditions. It has been a real eye-opener.
"1 Royal Welch shook our hands to thank us, but we felt very humbled, especially given what these fellas do.
"I'm just really pleased we played our part."