By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Holly L. Herline, USS Nimitz Public Affairs

BREMERTON – Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class Micky Waldron received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal aboard aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) July 9, for putting his Navy firefighting training into action.

On July 5, while many people were spending their holiday weekend relaxing, Waldron encountered a fire in his neighborhood.

Waldron said he was on top of his Belfair-area home washing the pine needles and dried leaves from the roof when he heard a few loud noises.

“I heard a few pops, like someone was shooting a gun, but I live in a rural area so that’s a normal thing,” said Waldron.

When he looked across the street, he saw somebody on the phone and then noticed smoke and flames climbing up the trees on the bank just past his neighbor’s yard.

“There wasn’t really a thought process for me,” said Waldron, who immediately began preparing himself to fight the fire.

Waldron got down from the roof with his hose and ran into the house to grab a long sleeved shirt to put on. He grabbed his duty flash hood from his Jeep on his way to the fire.

“When I got up to the fire, I soaked myself down because I didn’t have a firefighting ensemble and I knew I needed to be safe,” said Waldron.

Waldron has spent almost four years as part of the crash and salvage team and is one of the sailors mainly responsible for fighting flight deck fires. He has been sent to Pensacola, Florida, for team trainer firefighting training three times, and has spent his time on board studying effective firefighting techniques.

“In crash and salvage our number one goal is to save lives and prevent further damage,” said Waldron. “That was the first thing on my mind.”

The road was filled with smoke, so Waldron sprayed his flash hood down to prevent smoke inhalation and immediately began soaking down everything in front of him so he could move forward toward the fire.

“I was making sure it wasn’t going any further towards my neighbors house, that was my main priority until the fire department got there,” said Waldron. “I couldn’t really see because of the smoke but I was able to put out a few of the trees and some of the brush on fire, even with little pressure coming from the hose.”

Waldron knew to bend his knees and stay below the heat and dense smoke as he continued toward the fire and worked on putting out the flames. Surrounding neighbors came out with shovels and rakes to help stomp out the coals on the outer edges.

Waldron, who is trained in aircraft fuel fires, used the techniques he had learned through all of his training so effectively that the fire was completely out by the time the fire department arrived. The only thing that remained was smoke coming from the ground and the blackened brush and stumps along the bank.

“Nobody was burned, no vehicles or houses were damaged, the only property affected was the bank,” said Waldron. “The biggest reward for me is that nobody was injured.”

Once the fire department showed up, they removed the smoking brush and cleared the bank. Waldron gave his statement to the police and went home to continue his chores. “One of the fire fighters said ‘thanks for doing our job,’” said Waldron.

Waldron received the medal from Capt. John Ring, Nimitz’ commanding officer, for his actions in putting out the fire.

“I don’t feel like I am on any hero status,” said Waldron. “I feel like I was just doing my job. I think someone could have showed up thirty seconds before me and they would’ve done the same thing.”

Although anybody could have shown up to do what Waldron did, his quick thinking and the firefighting technique engrained into his mind from the continuous training allowed the fire to be quickly and effectively put out before any major damage had occurred.

For more news from Nimitz, visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn68