Area Served[]
Morris Air National Guard Base / Tucson International Airport is a joint civil-military airport owned by the City of Tucson, operated by the Tucson Airport Authority, and located 8 miles south of downtown Tucson in Pima County, Arizona. The military part of Tucson International Airport is known as Morris Air National Guard Base, formerly Tucson Air National Guard Base, and is located on 92 acres at the northwest corner of the field. It was named in honor of Major General Donald Eugene "Mo" Morris (July 30, 1923 – June 7, 2016) who is credited with forming the 152nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron, the first Air National Guard unit at Tucson back in 1956. Morris ANGB is home to the 162nd Fighter Wing, the largest Air National Guard fighter unit in the United States, and an Air Education and Training Command (AETC)-gained unit of the Arizona Air National Guard. The wing's F-16s augment the active Air Force's 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona as a Formal Training Unit (FTU) for training Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, Air National Guard and NATO as well as allied nation's F-16 pilots. Not counting students or transient flight crews, the installation employs over 1,700 personnel, over 1,100 of whom are full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technician (ART) personnel, and the remainder traditional part-time Air National Guardsmen. Although an AETC organization, the 162nd also maintains an F-16 Alert Detachment for US Northern Command / NORAD and AFNORTH at nearby Davis-Monthan AFB in support of Operation Noble Eagle.
Mutual Aid[]
The 162nd Civil Engineer Squadron / Morris ANGB Fire Department has a mutual aid agreement with the co-located Tucson Airport Authority Fire Department.
Department Profile[]
Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF), structure firefighting, fire prevention and inspection for Morris ANGB is provided by the 162nd Civil Engineer Squadron / Morris ANGB Fire Department, a subordinate unit of the 162nd Mission Support Group, comprised of civilian and military firefighters.
History[]
The Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Fighter Wing was established in 1956 at Tucson’s Municipal Airport, located by the old traffic control tower, with the North American F-86 Sabre as its principal air defense aircraft. A part-time fire department was immediately organized, with the fire truck housed at the maintenance hangar. In 1958 the Wing moved to its current location off the northwest end of the main runway and the first fire station was built. Having been an air defense unit for thirteen years, in 1969 the Wing transitioned from air defense to training. Because of the higher risk associated with student training, the Wing approved a full-time fire department with a Chief and 10 firefighters. In 1975 the 162nd converted to the A-7 Corsair II aircraft and the guardsmen firefighter staff expanded to its peak of 55 firefighters. Today, the 162nd Wing has a strength of nearly 1,900 airmen. The mission has also evolved into an international F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot training mission with more than 80 jets, as well as a remotely piloted aircraft program with combat and reconnaissance capability, as well as an alert mission to protect regional airspace.
Apparatus Roster[]
- All pump/tank measurements are in US gallons.
- US Government license plate in brackets starting with AF# denoting US Air Force
Fire Station 50 - 1400 East Super Sabre Drive[]
Built 1993
- Crash 773 - 2012 Ford F-550 SuperCab DRW 4x4 / Pierce P-34 RIV (UHP/400/15A/56B)
- Crash 774 - 2014 Ford F-550 SuperCab DRW 4x4 / KME P-34 RIV (UHP/400/15A/56B)
- Crash 775 (AF06L00746) - 2006 Oshkosh Striker 1500 4x4 crash tender (1950/1500/210F/500 lbs. DC/450 lbs. Halotron/50' Snozzle HRET)
- Rescue 777 (AF08C00377) - 2008 Freightliner M2 106 / Pierce Encore P-30 walk-around (SN#20767)
- Engine 778 (AF11L00200) - 2012 Pierce Contender P-22 (1250/500/2x30F) (SN#24850-04)
- Water Tender -
Retired Apparatus[]
- 1992 KME P-22 pumper (1000/600/55F) (Ex-Engine 5, ex-129th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing Fire Department) (Sold to DAFF Fire and Emergency Services contract fire in Tucson, Arizona before being purchased by Ryegate Volunteer Fire Department (Montana))
- (87L93) - 1987 Oshkosh P-19 4x4 crash tender (950/1000/130B/500 lbs. DC) (Ex-Crash 774)