Osan HVAC keeps the heat on

Published Dec. 7, 2012
By Senior Airman Kristina Overton
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- As the weather goes from a humid summer to a chilly fall, then a snow-filled winter, the first question that typically comes to mind for Airmen on Osan Air Base is, when are they turning on the heat? The Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning specialists are responsible for providing and maintaining the installation's systems to ensure that during the cold months, the base facilities are kept warm.

"Our job is to make sure that all the heating units on base are working properly and, should error occur, we fix them in a timely fashion," said Airman 1st Class Colin Josephson, 51st Civil Engineer Squadron HVAC apprentice. "Everyone on the base is a customer to us and we want to ensure that each person is taken care of."

With the change in weather, HVAC receives a higher volume of calls concerning the different heating units on base. In an effort to minimize the number of work orders received, HVAC has the Reoccurring Work Program designed to make sure that regular inspections are done for facilities and critical buildings on the installation. This program takes preventative action to avoid potential mishaps or fix problems that may occur with boilers or ventilation systems before they become problematic.

"The most reoccurring problem is individual dorm room calls for either the heat going out or private units in the room itself with fans or motors that need to be replaced," said Tech Sgt. Dwight Pete, 51st CES HVAC crew leader. "Regardless of the issue, it's important for people to remember the proper methods of reporting these incidents. A dorm manager or a building custodian should be contacted to place work orders, otherwise we end up with more than one work order for the same job and that complicates our work load."

Being an HVAC specialist can be a thankless job, but the team works hard to help the Osan community. The job can be dangerous if not done with care.

"When you work with boilers, you have to make sure the fuel nozzle is assembled correctly because if not, it can provide inaccurate airflow, and it can dispense massive amounts of air," Josephson said. "If it dispenses too much fuel, it could ignite a little fire ball in the tank and it could make the boiler explode. We have to be careful working with the systems so we don't get shocked and we have to make sure that we are paying close attention to our repairs so that we're doing them correctly."

Though Osan's HVAC shop regulates the systems on the base, they are not in control of the fuel. In the event that an entire heating in the building stops working, members should have their custodian contact the building fuel tank custodian, whose information should be posted on or around the fuel tanks.

"There's a lot of hard work that goes into this job," Josephson said. "I work with a lot of good people, good Airmen, NCO's and great leadership. I believe our shop at Osan is one of the best in the Pacific Air Force and we do what we can and work with what we can. I know it's getting cold out there right now, and we're doing our best. Just be patient with us. We will fix your problem."