Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, prides itself on being the “Hub of the Mediterranean.” Now its base fire department is reaching out even farther.

The department’s more than 100 military, Department of Defense civilian and Sicilian firefighters recently held aircraft firefighting training for the nearby Fontanarossa fire department, which provides service to the Catania International Airport.

And in the past few years the department has trained Air Force firefighters from Aviano Air Base; KBR firefighters serving at bases in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan; and Italian military firefighters from the Sigonella-based 41st Squadron.

“It’s quite challenging to do things in two or three languages,” said Sigonella Fire Chief Steve Monteleone.

“The tactics are similar to ours; the only difference is some equipment,” Assistant Chief Sean Edwards said of the recent training with Fontanarossa. “It’s very easy to train with them.”

But, Monteleone said, no matter what the language, the camaraderie that bonds all firefighters — and the basic similarities in training — is helping them to make the naval air station one of the central locations for military firefighting training in the Mediterranean.

“[Our vision] is to be the regional training center for the Mediterranean or even for Europe,” Edwards said.

Right now, what’s drawing other fire departments to Sigonella is its Mobile Aircraft Firefighter Trainer.

The Navy has less than 15 of these trainers throughout the fleet, with Naval Air Stations Sigonella and Keflavik, Iceland, having the only two at Navy commands in Europe. Sigonella received its MAFT from the Naval Air Systems Command in December 2003.

The 53-foot MAFT allows firefighters to practice nearly every possible aircraft fire scenario.

“It’s a little smaller than a C-9 [transport aircraft],” Edwards said. “It allows us to do live-fire training — interior, exterior, engines, wheel wells, fuselage … and running fuel fires [which replicates flaming fuel spilling from the aircraft].”

Sigonella is attempting to become not only the lead aircraft firefighting training facility for Mediterranean-based forces, but also the lead center for handling structural fires and hazardous material emergencies.

“We’re working to get all types of firefighting training aids,” Monteleone said. “Right now, we build a lot of our own aids for structural firefighting.”

The MAFT and other aids have already allowed Sigonella the ability to provide Navy- and DOD-mandated training for its firefighters.

An Italian fire inspector from Rome recently visited the base and certified that Sigonella’s firefighting training program meets Italian requirements. This allowed members to train the Fontanarossa department.

“We fly out of Catania airport, so why not offer training to them?” Monteleone said. “It may eventually help us out.”