Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 72F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 72F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Kenneth Parker, a sophmore at South Creek, worms his way through a wooden box lined with wires to simulate a situation firefighters might find themselves in at MCC’s first Fire Camp Academy for highschoolers.
Students participated in MCC’s inagural Fire Acedemy Camp last week are pictured in front of the college’s fire-simulation building. Back row, left to right: Jai’Marqus Jones, Christian Walters, Dishon Simpson, Jordan Stalls, and Abby Beacham; front row, left to right: Dustin Crooms, Zander Matthews, Jasmine Kitchengs, and Kenneth Parker.
Larry Johnson, MCC’s Fire and Rescue Training Coordinator, left, and Kevin Croom, center, an instructor at the Fire Academy, help Christian Walters navigate through wires in a simulation tunnel at MCC’s first Fire Academy Camp.
Christian Walters emerges from crawling through a simulatd tunnel filled with wires as Larry Johnson, MCC’s Fire and Rescue Training Coordinator, helps from above.
Kenneth Parker, a sophmore at South Creek, worms his way through a wooden box lined with wires to simulate a situation firefighters might find themselves in at MCC’s first Fire Camp Academy for highschoolers.
Students participated in MCC’s inagural Fire Acedemy Camp last week are pictured in front of the college’s fire-simulation building. Back row, left to right: Jai’Marqus Jones, Christian Walters, Dishon Simpson, Jordan Stalls, and Abby Beacham; front row, left to right: Dustin Crooms, Zander Matthews, Jasmine Kitchengs, and Kenneth Parker.
Larry Johnson, MCC’s Fire and Rescue Training Coordinator, left, and Kevin Croom, center, an instructor at the Fire Academy, help Christian Walters navigate through wires in a simulation tunnel at MCC’s first Fire Academy Camp.
Christian Walters emerges from crawling through a simulatd tunnel filled with wires as Larry Johnson, MCC’s Fire and Rescue Training Coordinator, helps from above.
Nine high school students were educated in the basics of firefighting, while learning the importance of teamwork at Martin Community College’s first Fire Academy Camp, a five-day event last week.
Larry Johnson, MCC’s Fire and Rescue Training Coordinator, said students were exposed to many experiences taught at the college’s Fire Academy, only on a scaled back basis.
Johnson said he hopes the camp ignited interest in a career pathway toward firefighting.
Martin County Schools paid the $50 registration fee for the seven Martin County Schools students. Two student’s registration fees were paid for with a donation from a couple in Jamesville, said Johnson.
The Martin County Fire Fighters Association provided all the meals for students and instructors throughout the week.
Campers were introduced to PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) and practiced SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) drills.
Campers also visited fire stations in Pitt and Martin counties and toured the Martin County Regional Communications Center-911 in Williamston.
They learned about salaries and benefits available to those interested in a career in Public Safety.
The group learned knot tying techniques and how ropes were vital in firefighting for hoisting equipment.
Students dressed up in turnout gear and watched as firefighters put out a real blaze.
Students also performed some of the same training exercises as students in MCC’s Fire Academy — only not as intense — taught at the college’s fire-simulation, said Johnson.
One simulation mimics a floor giving away while a firefighter crawls across it, as if an undetected fire was burning beneath it.
“At the Academy, these exercises are done in complete darkness,” Johnson said at the college’s fire-simulation building.
Students, aided by daylight, “fell through” the “floor” to a padded “basement.” They learned how and when to make a mayday call.
They also crawled through a makeshift “ceiling structure” full of wires, which could become hindrances as wires tangled in their equipment. At camp, instructors helped students untangle as they crawled. According to Johnson, the same exercise is performed at the Fire Academy in complete darkness, without instructors’ help.
Students performed a search and rescue simulation with fake smoke at the academy’s fire tower.
The Fire Camp is one way Johnson is hoping to fuel interest in the High School Fire Academy, which will begin in the fall of 2023.
The High School Academy is for students wanting to earn their firefighter’s certification while in high school. They attend MCC each school day, two-and-a-half hours for nine months.
“They get high school credit, just like they are taking any other class,” he said.
The certification also can earn them nine hours toward a two-year associate degree at MCC in Public Safety Administration.
Johnson, who worked as a firefighter in Rocky Mount 30 years before retiring at the age of 50 (and starting a new career at MCC), wants to spark consideration for a career in firefighting in younger people.
“If they start out at 18 or 19 years old, you are talking about being able to retire at 48 or 49 years old. It is just a great career,” he said.
There is currently a high demand for firefighters.
“I get calls frequently from career departments wanting to know if we have any firefighters in the academy looking for a job,” Johnson said.
“In Greenville last week, when I took these high school students over there, they rolled out the red carpet for us. It’s like everywhere else — they are having a hard time finding firefighters,” he added.
For those already out of high school looking for employment as a firefighter, MCC offers a Fire Academy at night from May to December.
Johnson said campers at the Fire Academy Camp formed a special camaraderie.
“It was really interesting to see those kids who came on Monday last week, and I couldn’t get them to say a word. By the end of the week, they had come together as a really strong corps,” he said.
“They were joking around, and pulling for each other to do well,” he said. “We also see that in the Fire Academy. They become a tight-knit group. That is one of the things I like about these programs.”
Johnson said teamwork is paramount.
“[In firefighting], you have to be a team player. I talked to the kids about all the practical things they have to do to meet state certifications. But I also talked to them about something we instill in the Academy – Critical Core Content. That includes accountability, responsibility, teamwork, being on time, completing lessons on time — life skills that will take them far, regardless of what career they choose,” he continued.
Deborah Griffin can be reached via email at dgriffin@apgenc.com.
Thadd White can be reached via email at twhite@apgenc.com.
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