A dozen young people spent a full Monday of their summer vacation learning a subject that may boost them toward a career in firefighting and emergency medical service.
A dozen young people spent a full Monday of their summer vacation learning a subject that may boost them toward a career in firefighting and emergency medical service.
Munson Fire Department’s first junior fire academy July 22 included several local participants and others from Mentor, Willowick, Warren and Lordstown, said Fire Chief Mike Vatty.
Some attending had familiarity with firefighting/EMS through relatives and a few plan to pursue it as a career, he said.
“It seemed that nearly half the participants had family members (in the field) or have made their choice in their career path,” Vatty wrote in an email.
The junior fire academy could help solve staffing shortages Munson and other township fire departments have been facing for a number of years.
The academy graduates last month ranged in age from 12 to 18, Vatty said, adding nearly half were female and everyone received a certificate and a junior fire academy T-shirt.
The one-day course touched on a variety of firefighting and EMS skills, including CPR, bleeding control, patient assessment, use of ladders, forcible entry, trucks and tanker use and ladder climbing.
Before a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs, participants took part in live fire extinguisher training and, after lunch, they learned about nozzle types and their uses, and vehicle extrication.
They also had a ride in the ladder truck bucket and negotiated an obstacle course with a dummy drag, Vatty said.
Munson Township Trustee Nate McDonald also attended the academy with his two children.
