OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Firefighters from the 51st Civil Engineer Squadron partnered with members of Songtan Fire Department a joint training structural live fire exercise May 18, 2016, at Kyonggi-do Fire Academy.

Osan fire and emergency services members train with Korean counterparts on a monthly basis, but this was the first time they participated in an off-base live fire training.

“It went really well today,” said Tech. Sgt. Crayton Felder, 51st CES assistant chief of operations. “All of the guys were hustling and knew what they were doing, and everyone worked very well together.”

The firefighters donned their gear upon arrival at the fire academy and soon charged into the live fire facility, working together to put out interior fires under the supervision of both Air Force and Korean senior fire and emergency services members.

“We get to see what they’re capable of, their facilities and how they train,” said Felder. “It may help spark our minds about how we can do certain things better and have a better working relationship with these guys.”

The mutual exchange of knowledge also brought along a mutual feeling of appreciation for the combined training.

“It was a good opportunity to train for a real world fire situation,” said Kim Young-Sun, Songtan fire station response team leader. “It’s more effective for each of our teams to know how we each respond.”