The Navy crew, along with crews from the Province of Catania, and Italian Civil Protection personnel from the City of Motta responded to the fire near the north side of the town.

On Sunday evening, the base received a call from the Mayor of Motta asking for assistance in fighting fires near the town. Sigonella FES made the call that they would be able to send one truck and one command vehicle to assist while still being able to respond to any fires or emergencies that might come up on base.

The Commanding Officer of NAS Sigonella, Capt. Brent Trickel, approved the request for assistance and Engine 11 got on their way. "We are committed to providing support to our local communities," said Trickel of the FES efforts to support the town.

NAS Sigonella sent four personnel on Engine 11 and one Senior Fire Officer in a command vehicle to the scene to see where they could be useful. The on-scene commander, one of the fire officers from Catania, assigned the Navy crew to the northern end of the fire line. After extinguishing the fire in that area, they were reassigned to fight the fire at a construction material storage warehouse belonging to the company Edil Motta.
This is the first time in over six years that the base has been called to fight a fire off of the installation. The NAS Sigonella personnel who responded to the fire were a mixed crew composed of two local national firefighters, two Sailors, and Assistant Fire Chief Lucas Lechtenberg, the Senior Fire Officer in charge of the group.

"This is the first time that our crews and the Italian crews have worked together on a joint scene," said Lechtenberg. "When we got there everyone knew what to do and got right to work. Firefighting is the same here in Italy as it is in the United States."

After about two hours on the scene, thanks to all of the crews working together, the fire had been extinguished and Engine 11 was able to pack up and head back to the base.

On Monday 23 July, FES once again was asked to help fight another fire in Motta. This time the fire, although smaller, was much closer to the inhabited areas of the town. With Trickel's approval, three vehicles were sent and six more firefighters from Sigonella got the opportunity to work with their local counterparts.

"Though we won't always be able to respond, we are very happy to assist when we can," said John Ogletree, NAS Sigonella Acting Fire Chief. "Of course the safety of the base and the success of NAS Sigonella's mission comes first, but part of that is ensuring the surrounding areas also stay safe."

Due to its proximity to NAS Sigonella, Motta is a popular place for American personnel to live, and to frequent for shopping and dining.

NAS Sigonella, "The Hub of the Med", is a U.S. Navy installation and an Italian Air Force base in Sicily, Italy. NAS Sigonella is the Navy's second largest security command, second only to that located at Naval Support Activity Bahrain. Because of its location near the center of the Mediterranean Sea, NASSIG is well placed to support operations by the U.S. 6th Fleet, other U.S. military units, and U.S. allies and coalition partners.


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