Grand Forks AFB responds to three mutual aid requests, assists with local fire Published April 1, 2025 By Senior Airman Anthony Nunez-Pellicer 319th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D -- Thirty-three firefighters assigned to the 319th Civil Engineer Squadron and two firefighters assigned to the 28th CES from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., lent support to three mutual aid fires occurring between Feb. 9 - March 6, 2025. Mutual aid is an agreement between Grand Forks AFB and the surrounding communities, in which the 319th Reconnaissance Wing provides fire suppression and rescue support if requested. The base is situated approximately 18 miles away from Grand Forks, N.D., and a majority of the closer communities are resourced with all-volunteer fire departments. The two airmen from Ellsworth AFB are reassigned to Grand Forks AFB to offset the mission surge during the temporary relocation of 17 B-1B Lancers and approximately 800 airmen from Ellsworth AFB to Grand Forks AFB. The relocation is expected to last 10 months and allows Ellsworth AFB to make preparations as the first base to receive the new, next generation bomber - the B-21 Raider. “There was a lot of great teamwork between us and the Grand Forks firefighters, and even other departments,” said Airman 1st Class Brayden Cheney, firefighter with the 28th CES. “If we weren’t here, we would not have gotten to experience such a large-scale operation. Learning how to communicate with other agencies has been a big improvement for me and I hope to do more as we continue to support the fire station and the B-1 mission here.” In the first incident, Feb. 8, three crews consisting of 12 firefighters were dispatched to downtown Emerado, N.D., at and provided five hours of fire suppression support to a structural building fire until the scene was deemed safe and the fire threat cleared. The second incident, March 3, a controlled burn spread and developed into an uncontrolled brush fire near Grand Forks International Airport. One crew consisting of five firefighters was dispatched for a water supply operation to control the spread of the burn and extinguish the fire. The third incident, March 6, 16 firefighters and seven fire vehicles were dispatched to respond to a 2,600-acre fire in Emerado. The 319th CES fire prevention team joined a joint team of 120 firefighters assigned to eight fire departments across Grand Forks County. The teams controlled the burn and protected nine structures from damages, and ensured the lives of the Emerado community and their fellow firefighters were protected. Tech. Sgt. Keven Curlett, fire prevention non-commissioned officer in charge for the 319th CES, assumed the role of incident commander during the third fire and defended an estimated $1.3 million dollars in property from fire damage. “Part of my job as incident command was to distribute and funnel the crews, sometimes even having them fight the fire head-on to prevent it from jumping roads and taking out another mile or so of land,” said Curlett. “It’s fairly unusual for one incident commander to take charge of such a massive operation and we used tactics that we don’t often use as well. But, we train for this every single day and we stay ready and that's what lets us handle it.” Three outstanding airmen were coined for their performance during the operations to include the incident commander for the largest operation, Curlett; Staff Sgt. Drew Sivil, lead firefighter for the 319th CES and Senior Airman Eric Liske, driver operator for the 319th CES. “To say I’m extremely proud of what my team has accomplished would be an understatement,” said Master Sgt. Austin Meier, deputy fire chief for the 319th CES. “We were able to respond to three calls with nobody getting injured, we put those fires out and we even took command of a large-scale incident – we’ll make sure we’re ready to do it all again.” Meier noted his team’s success was a reflection of their realistic training, persistent self-assessment and maintenance of fitness. “We train and train and we do all these exercises and this is really what it’s about – staying ready for any situation in which we have to get ready at a moment's notice and fight fires, rescue, save lives or anything else.”