El Paso Native Injured In Iraq When Dining Facility Bursts Into Flames
By Sgt. Steven Livingston / Special To KVIA
One Soldier was injured when a dining facility suddenly burst into flames at Joint Security Site India, near Mosul, Iraq, April 18.
Private 1st Class Alvaro Regaldo of 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas, was in the Dining Facility when the fire erupted.
“Pfc. Regaldo sustained burns on over 70 percent of his body,” said Capt. Chad Atchley, a physician’s assistant with JSS India Forward Aid Station, Voodoo Platoon, 1/36th Inf., and a native of El Paso, Texas. “Pfc. Regaldo sustained second-and third-degree burns on a majority of his body along with smoke and fire inhalation.”
Within the first minute of Pfc. Regaldo stumbling from the building, Spc. Carl Siem, a medic with 1/36th Inf., was on the scene providing much-needed medical care, said Capt. Atchley. The Soldiers from the FAS provided medical treatment, stabilizing the wounded Soldier and preparing him for medical evacuation. “It took less than12 minutes from the time of the first responder to the time ground transportation was initiated,” said Capt. Atchley.
Regaldo was transported to Contingency Operating Site Marez for further treatment. He is now recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas. According to the BAMC website, the medical center is one of only 15 hospitals in the United States that hold both Level 1 Trauma Center certification and accreditation from the American Burn Association.
“The Dining Facility was a total loss,” said Spc. James Murdoch, a nutrition care specialist with 1/36th Inf. “Even when disaster strikes Soldiers have to eat. That night we set up a Containerized Kitchen and the Soldiers were fed.” According to Army.mil, the CK integrates commercial components with existing military standard kitchen equipment in an expandable 20-foot container mounted on a tactical trailer.
The CK is a mobile, rapidly deployable, self-contained field kitchen capable of supporting 800 Soldiers with three hot meals per day. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
