Countywide : Old Fuel Tank Fills Marines’ Burning Desire

George Osumi, a Tustin farmer, had a thorn in his side that had nothing to do with the produce he has planted on land he leases from the Tustin Marine Corps Helicopter Air Station.

It was in the form of a 10,000-gallon steel tank that once held fuel for his tractors. But because federal environmental regulations prohibited its burial, Osumi had no idea what to do with his.

So, the Marines came to his rescue.

Last year, Marine engineers were searching for a steel shell to build a mock-up helicopter and asked Osumi for his tank.

He gladly handed it over.

“It sat around for years,” said Osumi, who has farmed the land for 15 years. “I wanted to get rid of it and nobody wanted it. The military wanted it so I gave it to them.”

The Marines unveiled their new mock-up helicopter on Friday morning then promptly set it ablaze in a simulated helicopter crash and fire.

Although the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting unit practices twice a month to hone their fire-fighting skills, Friday’s test run was the first time Osumi’s former tank was set afire.

The contraption, vaguely resembling a small helicopter, sat in a pool of jet fuel and water, which is recycled and pumped in during every exercise.

Friday’s firefighting exercise, however, was momentarily delayed by Mother Nature.

Strong winds blowing in the wrong direction, west toward the landmark wooden hangar listed in “The Guinness Book of World Records” as the tallest standing wooden structure, caused the firefighters to wait for a lull before lighting the fire.

Once the wind died down, the five-man crew, dressed in bright metallic fire-retardant suits, lit the pit with torches and within seconds an intense fire of up to 2,000 degrees engulfed the mock-up helicopter and pool of liquid mixture.

Although the heat could be felt several feet away, firefighters said they do not have time to think about the fire’s intensity.

“The adrenaline rush is so high that you don’t focus on the heat,” said Sgt. John Gonzalez, firefighter section leader. “You are more concentrated on putting out the fire.”

For his part, Osumi shed no tears over the burning of his tank, which Marines say will last them for four years of firefighting test runs.

“It would have cost me at least $500,000 to move it,” he said.