COMBINED ARMS TRAINING CENTER CAMP FUJI, Japan - The Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji (CATC) Fire Department hosted fire instructors from the Shizuoka Prefectural Fire Academy for controlled flashover training Friday, August 14 at the Fuji fire house. Camp Fuji’s Flashover simulator is one of the only simulators in the Shizuoka and Kanagawa region capable of exhibiting flashover fire conditions to safely train in.

The Shizuoka Prefectural Fire Academy is an entry-level school that all Shizuoka firemen-in-training have to attend and graduate in order to be certified. The instructors of the academy reached out to the Camp Fuji Fire Department in order to conduct flashover training. These handful of instructors coach more than 120 new firefighters annually.

“We are proud to host the instructors of the Shizuoka Fire Academy,” said Sotaro Magasaki, assistant fire chief of the Camp Fuji Fire Department, Station 7 of the Marine Corps Installations Pacific Fire & Emergency Services, “Here we provide great training and comradery where the instructors can go back and teach their students to ultimately save lives.”

This training regimen is just one of multiple opportunities Camp Fuji has had to collaborate with the fire department and other related organizations within the Shizuoka Prefecture. Flashover fire training, among others, will continue to build long lasting bonds between the Camp Fuji’s Fire Department and the firemen of the Shizuoka and Kanagawa region.

“When we were informed about the Shizuoka Prefectural Fire Academy’s interest in conducting flashover training, we were happy to support,” said Col. Robert Bodisch, commanding officer of CATC Camp Fuji. “With the successful execution of this training, we anticipate even more opportunities for firefighters to train with us on Camp Fuji.”

On October 19, 1979, a widespread fire took place on CATC Camp Fuji that took the lives of 13 Marines and injured more than 80 Marines, Japanese firefighters and rescue workers who attempted to assist in quelling the flames. A memorial ceremony is held each year in October, dedicated to the Marines who lost their lives in the incident. More imagery on last year’s memorial ceremony can be found at: https://dvidshub.net/r/woffyi

Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji is a U.S. Marine Corps installation dedicated to supporting combat arms training that contributes to the readiness, lethality, and modernization of the Marine Corps, partner and joint forces in order to defend, fight and win in the Indo-Pacific region.

Photo Caption: Members of the Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji fire department attend the annual Camp Fuji Fire memorial ceremony at the Camp Fuji command post, Oct. 19, 2018. CATC Camp Fuji hosts the ceremony annually to remember the October 1979 tragic fire that took the lives of 13 Marines with Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and injured many others, to include Japanese rescue workers. The gathering and collective remembrance of this tragedy is a depiction of the strong mutual commitment to the U.S. and Japanese community.