By Tom Kiurski
Many of us remember our initial fire training academy with fond memories. Most of us were adults, and the ages of trainees ranged from around 18 years old and up to those in their 50s. The young ones got squirrely at times; the older ones reeled us in when necessary. It was a great blend of ages; all of us drew on the strengths of the group members. But, what would happen if we had a fire academy that consisted of all high school-aged students?
In 2011, the State of Michigan lowered the minimum age for cadet firefighter certification to age 16. Many young men and women wanted firefighter training but found it hard to get after high school since so many of these students were starting college in a few months. This got fire departments talking to see how we could train these high-school cadets and not interfere with their typical school activities.
Livingston County, Michigan, is comprised of eight fire departments, all of which rely heavily on paid on-call firefighters. As is the case with most paid on-call fire departments, recruitment is an ongoing issue. The county normally puts on one fire academy a year, and instructors from all area departments help to teach it. It is run on nights and weekends.
When the chiefs got together to discuss the new reduced age for fire cadets, they kicked around the idea of a fire academy run in a high school during the regular school day. Logistically, one of the county high schools had an old auto shop that was vacant and available. The area fire chiefs pitched the idea to the high schools. With help from a firefighter serving as the school board president, the idea moved forward. The collaborative effort of the area departments resulted in the acquiring of an instructor to lead the fire academy and donations of equipment.
Implementing the High School Academy
Work began on converting the old auto shop into a fire academy. Two changing rooms with lockers were walled in; a larger bay door was added to allow for the height of the fire trucks. A reserve fire truck was purchased from one of the county fire departments.
It was agreed that the fire academy would be run in a para-military fashion, as most fireground incidents and other academies are. All parties were involved in deciding issues such as a model for running the academy, uniforms, and acquiring assistant instructors to help out during skills days. This was a dramatic departure from how most high school classes are run, but we felt this was necessary to develop high-caliber firefighter cadets. We sold the academy based on the concept that the cadets would be trained to fit into the para-military scenario.
Physical training (PT) was scheduled for two days a week, normally Tuesday and Thursday. Initially, a certified fitness instructor would run the class, scheduled for about 30 minutes. The workout program was varied so that the cadets could be exposed to different workout regimes. The goals were that they would find some components that would “click” with them and twould embrace lifelong fitness. After a month of instructor run workouts, cadets were asked who would like to become a “peer fitness instructor.” Those cadets would work closely with our fitness instructor, and his role would move into more of an overseer of the program. After another month of helping out, the fitness instructor would be able to take off days from visiting as his confidence level in the fitness program and peer fitness instructors grew.
As we moved forward with our academy plans, we held a “Family Orientation Meeting” before the start of the fire academy. The fire academy takes up three class periods each day, which is a huge commitment. Just in case the cadets were surprised by the way the academy was run and the physical requirements, we wanted to spell out exactly what would be required of each cadet. Cadets were encouraged to attend with their parents and to ask as many questions as they needed to decide if this was the right class for them. That way, there was still time to switch into other classes without missing any sessions. This enabled us to explain the program to the parents so they could help their children study for the course and remind them about upcoming homework or quizzes.
We discussed discipline before the fire academy started. Even though we could handle minor mistakes with some push-ups until everyone got used to this new experience, we had to prepare for a situation where a cadet openly breaks a rule and disrupts the rest of the academy. We adopted a demerit system that allowed for three violations and then the cadet would be expelled from the program. The cadet would be able to appeal, but habitual offenders would have to leave the program. The schools agreed with this policy.
We had planned for additional time in the high school fire academy, far exceeding the state minimums, and for time to deal with issues anticipated with this age group. I wish I could say that we were ready for anything, but the cadets always threw something new our way.
Although the academy was to be run similar to other academies, we spent day one reading aloud the “Rules and Regulations” for the fire academy. That way, we could always refer to it when rules were broken and discipline was handed down. We brought in the human resources director early in the academy to go over harassment and to emphasize the need to obey the rules in the fire academy.
For the most part, the academy was run similar to any other college fire academy program. Whenever possible, instructors from the fire departments in the county were brought in to teach and help out with practical days. This allowed the cadets to meet those folks who may be in their department or other fire departments in the county. Since Livingston County has a strong mutual-aid/automatic-aid policy, they would certainly see them at incidents or training classes in the future.
High school boundary lines are only loosely related to the fire department response areas. Since the fire academy was open to all high school juniors and seniors in the county, we went over which fire departments the cadets would work for, if they chose to. Again, most fire departments in the county have junior/cadet programs, so we encouraged them to join up during the school year if possible.
Field trips were planned for later in the school year, after the cadets got used to the schedule and if we were current with our curriculum syllabus. Both academies were able to visit our trauma/burn center, meet with the air ambulance crew, and see the helicopter up close. Our second class visited a fire museum, where they saw some of the equipment from the past.
All things were leading up to the live fire training done in a burn building. This is a large-scale event; plenty of instructional staff was on hand to deal with the cadets’ safety. It turned out to be a fantastic day for the cadets, as expected. Although they had plenty of practical skills training, the live fire and heat really pumped them up.
We thought our failure rate would be higher than a typical college-run fire academy. First, the fire academy was available to county residents at no cost, so that didn’t create any stress to pass. Second, the cadets were not used to having classes that required this much commitment. If cadets were also involved in school sports or outside jobs, their performance in the fire academy testing process suffered. The percentage of cadets who went on to become state certified firefighters is currently just over 70 percent, which is better than was anticipated. Most of those who are now certified firefighters are in Livingston County fire departments.
As we move forward, we are hoping to reach out further into the county to get higher enrollment in the program. We still are not well-known among high school counselors and administrators. We have held Open House recruitment events, participated in parades and other community events, and even started our own Facebook page (Howell Public Schools Fire Academy).
There are many awareness programs run through high schools, and there are also Explorer Posts run through fire departments. This is one more way of reaching out to the younger folks in the community and bringing them into your fire department as certified firefighters.
BIO
Tom Kiurski, a 34-year veteran of the fire service, serves the Brighton (MI) Fire Department as a lieutenant/instructor. He is the author of Creating a Fire Safe Community: A Guide for Fire Safety Educators (Fire Engineering, 1999). He has written more than 450 fire safety articles that have appeared in Fire Engineering and other industry magazines. He has an associate degree in fire science, a bachelor’s degree in fire and safety engineering technology, and a master’s degree in public administration. He is a Michigan-certified fire instructor and teaches at fire academies in Michigan.
