Air Force firefighters protecting Vance during labor dispute Published June 22, 2009 By Joe B. Wiles 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- When he received notification of a deployment to an undisclosed location for an undisclosed amount of time, Senior Master Sgt. Russell Eidenschink's first thought was, "Afghanistan," he said. But the soft-spoken firefighter from Columbus AFB, Miss., didn't go where he expected. Instead, he came to Vance to serve as fire chief, overseeing the work of 30 military firefighters from Luke AFB, Ariz.; Tyndall AFB, Fla.; Randolph AFB, Texas and Altus AFB, Okla. "I got here Thursday (June 4) to look around, get a feel for the base and make sure billeting was set up for the three six-man firefighter teams coming in from Luke and Altus," Sergeant Eidenschink said. He met with the Vance Fire Department chief and deputy chief. Midnight Sunday, June 7, the contracted firefighters left the station when the union representing most of the contracted workers on base, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 898, went on strike. Sergeant Eidenschink and his Air Force firefighters moved in. It was an uncomfortable moment for the firefighters, both contracted and military. "Firefighters are a strong brotherhood. Within the command, we see each other a lot at conferences. It was odd coming in to take over another chief's fire house," Sergeant Eidenschink said. The welfare of Vance's people and their families is a top priority for base leadership. so the military firefighters got to work getting mission ready. "People all over the base have been extremely helpful getting us familiar with the aircraft here, showing us the buildings, making sure we could respond to any and all emergencies. "I am very impressed with how well Vance leadership is taking care of our morale and well-being and genuinely making all of us feel welcome here," he said. "We all stayed at the fire house the first week, seeing what would happen. We decided if the strike wasn't resolved that week, we would call in two more six-man teams," he said. The firefighters from Randolph and Tyndall arrived June 13. Sergeant Eidenschink said his younger firefighters felt a little weird at first. "They weren't sure if they were doing something wrong by being here. But it was quickly made clear there were no hard feelings toward us. The strike was something that had to be worked out between the union and the contractor," Sergeant Eidenschink said. The visiting firefighters not only got ready for the critical aspects of their job, but stepped up to perform the more light-hearted side of business as well. "During our first week, a group of young ladies attending Camp Tomahawk on base came by for a tour of the firehouse," Sergeant Eidenschink said. "We also went out on the flightline ensuring some pilots taking their final flights at Enid were properly water soaked." Despite being away from home, and in the middle of a tense situation, Sergeant Eidenschink said he is excited about his current mission. "Since all 31 of us are new to Vance, in a new firehouse, we get to make the rules. We don't have any 'but this is how we've always done it.'" Sergeant Eidenschink isn't carrying the leadership role alone. Serving as his deputy fire chief is Master Sgt. Kirk Anderson from the 56th Civil Engineering Squadron at Luke AFB. "We're starting from scratch and building a team," he said. We're mixing up the trucks so we can learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. We have a variety of personalities. Some are young three-levels and others have extensive experience." The firefighters are getting ready to participate in a hazardous material exercise on base. "We want to learn as much as we can and take the experience back to our home bases," Sergeant Eidenschink said. So far, there haven't been any significant response events. "We've responded to some trouble alarms and one medical event, so it has been pretty quiet," he said. The firefighters are working 13-man shifts 24-hours on and 24-hours off with a four-man team working the alarm center. When they first arrived in town, Enid didn't look to be very big, said Sergeant Eidenschink. But then they went north on Highway 81, took the left onto Owen K. Garriott and found another whole side of town, he said. "We are looking forward to going to that nationally-known rib place in Lahoma," Sergeant Eidenschink said.