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  • National Guard Staff Sgt. Chris Heiken, who is also a Mt. Vernon Fire Department firefighter, shows his fellow firefighters the specs on a military tactical fire fighting truck like the one he will use when he is deployed to Afghanistan. Heiken and two other soldiers traveled to seven fire stations on Tuesday to show the truck. CNHI

    fire fighter
February 8, 2012

Fire fighters tour with military truck

By RORYE O’CONNOR rorye.oconnor@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Mt. Vernon Fire Department firefighter and Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Chris Heiken brought a military tactical fire fighting truck to the 42nd Street Mt. Vernon Fire Department station on Tuesday.

Heiken, who has served on the fire department for seven months, is scheduled to ship out to Afghanistan. He and fellow National Guard members, Specialist Tim Thomason of Vandalia and Sgt. James Cissell of Evansville, who are also firefighters, toured their home fire stations on Tuesday.

They are based in Sparta, where they train one weekend a month and two weekends a year as part of being in the National Guard, Heiken said. He said he, Thomason and Cissell will be deployed for six to nine months.

Heiken said their stop at the MVFD station was the last of the day.

“We started in Sparta,” he said, adding their day began at 8 a.m. “We went to Evansville, Illinois, Belleville, Greenville, Vandalia, Brownstown and here.”

He said the group’s trip took them to all of the departments they work on in their civilian lives.

“It’s a thank you to the departments for working with the National Guard,” he said.

Thomason said they will serve as firefighters on an airfield runway structure while they are deployed.

He said the TFFT is different from a typical fire truck in its size and capabilities.

“We are capable of fighting fires on aircraft, structures, vehicles and wildland, all in one truck,” he said. “Most civilian departments, it takes two to three trucks to do what we can do with one truck.”

He said the TFFT can also go off-road and in as much as three feet of water, weighs 66,000 pounds empty and can carry six personnel.

Several MVFD firefighters enjoyed examining the TFFT, which can fight structural, off-road and aircraft fires. It is built higher off the ground than a traditional fire truck, and has water turrets on the bumper, roof and other areas.

This is Heiken’s second deployment; he was deployed to Iraq in 2005. He is married to Elizabeth Heiken and has a six-month old son, Matthew.  

MVFD Chief Jim Brown said Heiken is a well-liked member of the department’s team.

“He’s definitely an asset for the department,” Brown said, adding the MVFD will miss him while he is deployed.

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