RAF Marham Fire Section - Local man’s triple fire fighting roles

Cromer man Reece Laffar (22) a Fireman with the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fire Service at Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan is fully trained for three roles at the new airfield fire station.
Reece’s main job as a Senior Aircraftsman is helping to provide fire cover for the busy airfield. Camp Bastion is busier than Stansted Airport, which is itself the third busiest airport in the UK. There are around 15,000 aircraft movements a month at Bastion. Reece may be tasked with driving an appliance or to be a breathing apparatus wearer. They all work as one team and Reece says, “Always be thankful for those who help you and influence you.”

Second and uniquely, Reece and all of the RAF firemen at the airfield fire station are fully trained to work alongside British Army ground forces to help recover any casualties in the field. For this they have ready-to-go body armour and weapons together with their fire fighting clothing and safety kit in the fire station.

Third, a further dedicated role they carry out is to carry the casualties from incoming helicopters to the Camp Bastion hospital, as well as helping those patients subsequently returning to the UK by air, on to homeward bound aircraft. Reece’s current three-month tour finishes this month.

He has served at Bastion fire station before, as well as being part of the fire section at the RAF base in the Falklands for four months. When at home he is based at RAF Marham, Norfolk.
He was educated at Trent College Secondary School in Nottingham and joined the RAF in 2008.

Reece has a younger brother in the RAF.