MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Airfield flame busters played with an oversized "grill" on a recent weekend - but it was no barbecue. The mock aircraft they dealt with was really on fire - engulfed at times in white-hot flames. The Marines, members of the Marine Corps Air Station's Crash Fire Rescue crew, jumped into a fire simulation device never before used at Camp Pendleton. A mock F-18 jet was set ablaze so the firefighters could hone their quick-reaction skills."The Marines practiced internal and external fire drills and rescue drills," said Staff Sgt. Juan R. Espinosa, section leader for Crash Fire Rescue. Each Marine entered the aircraft to not only fight the fire - but to feel the heat. "A house fire can get up to 1,200-1,800 degrees Fahrenheit," Espinosa said. "This grill can climb to 2,200 degrees and possibly 2,400 degrees on a hot day - almost two times hotter."Cpl. Wesley J. Kleithces, a training noncommissioned officers for Crash Fire Rescue at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., which delivered the simulator and conducted the training, said the grill is called the Mobile Aircraft Firefight Training Device. The grill contains several fire pits controlled entirely by the Marines. The device is attached to a control rig that allows trainers to determine the timing and location of the fire."This allows us to create a number of scenarios for the firefighters, and at the same time keep them safe in a controlled environment," said Cpl. Ryan M. Pratt, also a training NCO for Crash Fire Rescue at MCAS Yuma. The device can simulate a downed aircraft with external fire, internal fire and unknown ordnance fires, trainers said. The Marines donned gear that allows them to play with fire without getting burned. The gear boasts a silver coating that can withstand heat up to 1,000 degrees, Espinosa said.Along with the suit, the Marines wore breathing equipment that keeps air flowing but leaves the heat out. Each bottle provides up to 45 minutes of air.In one practice drill, controllers simulated an external fire. The Marines pounced on the flames, dousing them with water turrets and hoses. As they put out the blaze, the inside of the aircraft caught on fire, so a second team went inside the phony aircraft to fight it. The Marines were completely engulfed in flames but came out unscathed."I didn't feel the flames or even know what had happened until I got out of the aircraft," said Cpl. Christopher M. Pickett, a Crash Fire Rescue firefighter. "This was the first time I'd ever done anything like that. It was an adrenaline rush."Pickett said the local Crash Fire Rescue unit hopes to obtain a similar device for Camp Pendleton. E-mail Lance Cpl. DiGirolamo at joseph.digirolamo@usmc.mil.