Navy Sailors and civilian firefighters extinguished a grass fire that affected approximately 20 acres of land on the U.S. Naval Base Guam Munitions Annex in Santa Rita, March 4.

Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 deployed an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter that conducted 30 water drops to the area while U.S. Naval Base Guam (NBG) Fire and Emergency Service (FES) crews fought the fire on the ground.

The command's continuous training proved beneficial to the community as the blaze was extinguished, preventing evacuation of nearby residents and damage to structures.

"Yesterday's events illustrate our squadron's high level of readiness and flexibility," said Lt. Christian Burnett, HSC-25 aircraft commander. "HSC-25 is widely known to maintain a 24-hour search-and-rescue, and medical alert posture for Guam. Yesterday proved that the squadron can also provide a quick and effective airborne firefighting capability in emergencies. Such efforts reflect the hard work of our Sailors and proficiency of our aircrews."

NBG Firefighters provided fire suppression with FES' forestry truck and were able to extinguish the blaze by 7:28 p.m.

"The coordinated effort between Navy Fire and HSC-25's support proved to be invaluable in stopping the spread of the fire up towards route 17 homes and ordnance property," said NBG FES Deputy Fire Chief Leecardo Taimanglo. "Partnership between Navy Fire and HSC-25 benefits includes good communication, coordination between operations of land and air firefighting, and enhanced proficiency of the helicopter pilots and crew."

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