DATE: Tuesday, August 19, 1997              TAG: 9708190267

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL  

SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:  101 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** Tom Trumbauer is a civilian firefighter at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, not a sailor, as stated in a photo caption on Tuesday's Hampton Roads front page. Correction published in The Virginian-Pilot, Wednesday, August 20, 1997, page A2. ***************************************************************** CITY, BASE FIREFIGHTERS BLAZE TRAIL OF COOPERATION

As the alarm sounded for a structure fire Thursday night, engines rolled out of Station 16 on Camellia Road and Station 2 on the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.

It could have been another fire like the one that destroyed an entire block of apartments in Pretty Lake Village in 1993. But this time it was only a fire on a porch at an East Ocean View house.

So the firefighters, their adrenaline pumping, never got off the engines because the fire was out when they got there. This time it wasn't the big one.

There is no way to tell when Norfolk firefighters will have to deal with another fire like the Pretty Lake blaze. But when they do, they'll have more firefighting power than ever because of an agreement with the Little Creek base.

Thanks to the agreement between the two departments, Norfolk can call on firefighters at Little Creek for help at fires, accidents and other calls just as they would any Norfolk station.

It is the latest partnership formed by base fire and police and their civilian counterparts in Norfolk.

In the past, base firefighters have called on Norfolk for help with serious incidents on the base, but the tables rarely were turned.

So, when Little Creek officials approached the Norfolk department, everyone seemed to agree that sharing resources on a daily basis was a good idea, Little Creek Fire Chief Joe Symonds said.

``In today's world of downsizing and doing more with less, it's impossible to do certain tasks without manpower,'' he said. ``So why spend the money and the resources on people who would only be needed on occasional incidents when you can share resources with your neighbors?''

Those who will benefit the most from the joint response will be residents of East Ocean View and the East Little Creek Road corridor served by Station 16, officials said. Last year, firefighters responded to nearly 80 fires and at least 300 medical calls in that area.

Norfolk Station 16 and Little Creek Station 2 have not yet responded together to a major event. That, firefighters said, will be the true test of how well they will work with each other. They are already training together.

Station 1 at Little Creek already responds to calls with the city of Virginia Beach. In the near future, firefighters from Norfolk Naval Station also will respond to calls in Ocean View, said Jack Goldhorn, spokesman for Norfolk Fire and Paramedical Services.

And the Norfolk department also may forge similar partnerships with Virginia Beach and Chesapeake soon, he said.

``We are the start of regionalism,'' Goldhorn said. ``We are taking the resources that we have and are sharing them to give the citizens and the bases the best trained fire personnel and equipment. To do that, we have to share resources.''

Everyone involved in the partnership between the two departments seems to agree that the arrangement has worked well so far. Little Creek firefighters have been responding to incidents in Norfolk for almost a month.

``It's been a good deal for us and them, really,'' said Capt. Seldon McCoy of Station 16. ``We've had more time on the streets and I think they can learn from us . . . and hopefully we can learn from them.''

``We already feel we're somewhat of the same department,'' said Little Creek Capt. Dave Dunlap.

But there are differences. ``We do more as far as diversity,'' said Little Creek firefighter Paul Phillips. Phillips, 27, is a civilian in the Little Creek department.

Phillips and his fellow Little Creek firefighters respond to shipboard and land-based incidents that involve everything from cars to cranes, he said.

They stand by as ships are fueled and ammunition is transferred. And there are differences in the way they communicate by radio - even in the paperwork they fill out, he said.

Now, he said, they have to deal with two sets of paperwork.

And then there are fires. Responding to Norfolk city calls will provide the Little Creek station's firefighters - a mixture of civilians and military personnel - with the added experience of fighting house fires. Because the departments have fought different types of fires in the past, the procedures follow suit, they said.

And so do the dangers. ``With structural firefighting, you've always got the danger of collapse,'' said Little Creek firefighter Keith Lacoy, 30.

With those differences always in mind, the Little Creek crew has been able to adapt to the Norfolk department's ways of doing things, said Little Creek Assistant Chief Steve Pyle.

``We've got a lot of experience with mutual aid, so it's been pretty easy for these guys to fall in,'' Pyle said.

And already, firefighters from Stations 16 and 2 have formed friendships. There is good-natured teasing and off-duty socializing.

After all, said Little Creek's Dunlap, their purpose is one in the same. ``The goal is to save life and property,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot

Ignacio Martin, suited, from Norfolk's Fire Department, Capt. Dave

Dunlap, center, and sailor Tom Trumbauer, both from Little Creek's

base firefighting force, work on a joint training exercise.

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