How's this for a daydream: you're sitting in English class, bored, wishing that something exciting would happen, when a distress call comes over your emergency radio (besides being in high school, you're a part-time firefighter.)
Oh no! There's a fire and they need your help!
You jump up from your desk and dash out the door as your classmates roar with approval.
That fantasy was a reality for Grade 11 student Sasha Kadyk, one of 10 Morinville Community High School students enrolled in a program that allows them to earn credits for joining the town's volunteer fire department.
For Kadyk and the others, hours of classroom and hands-on training shifted to live firefighting one Monday in April when the Redwater brush fires broke out. The students got their first call while sitting in class.
"Everybody paused in class and they pretty much cheered while I ran out," Kadyk said.
The program
It was Fire Chief Ron Cust's idea to bring high school students into his department. He thought some form of youth outreach would be a better way to tap into the community than waiting for interested people to approach him.
"Recruitment and retention is a problem with any of the departments right now," he said. "To expect somebody to come through this door … it's a little overwhelming."
Several communities in Canada and the United States have junior firefighter programs but Cust wanted to provide students with a more hands-on taste of actual firefighting. So he designed a three-level program that provides the same classroom and hands-on training that is offered at the professional firefighting course at Lakeland College in Vermilion.
Cust's department is eating the cost of the program. A set of fire gear costs $2,500 and it costs the department $4,000 to $6,000 to fully train a firefighter.
The department's senior members volunteer their time to train the students two evenings a week, teaching them the basics of firefighting and extracting crash victims from vehicles. Each student is assigned a mentor.
The course includes mid-term and final exams and is worth five school credits. By the end of the term the students will have 126 hours of training, including at least 15 hours of experience at real emergencies.
"What I'm building right now is the core of my department when I'm gone in the next 20 years," Cust said.
The program fits right into the school's desire to provide students with more hands-on career exploration, said principal Vic Pedersen.
"We're not aware of anybody else that's doing it in Canada," he said.
The program has drawn a broad cross-section of students, from the academically inclined to hands-on types. It has provided some of the students with a clearer sense of direction, which has made them more engaged in school.
"They've been fighting a fire until one o'clock in the morning and they're up and back at school," Pedersen said. "Tired as they may be, they're back at it."
Getting in
The recruits had to pass a standard firefighter physical test, followed by an in-depth interview geared towards weeding out those who were more interested in showing off than helping people. Cust also looks for a healthy dose of confidence that doesn't stray too far toward cockiness.
"What we're looking for is the caring and we're looking for the balls," he said.
Even though Morinville's is a volunteer fire department, it responds to 300-plus calls a year, which can include serious vehicle collisions and structure fires. Their mandate is to leave the hall within three to five minutes of receiving a call.
When a call comes in during school hours, some of the students simply run the two blocks to the hall. In the evening, some get a ride from their parents.
"Some of them don't have their license yet, so they actually ride their bikes here," Cust said.
Family life
On a warm Wednesday evening, the water is flying in front of the Morinville fire hall. A two-hour training session in hose advancing is over and a water fight has broken out between new recruits and established members. Meanwhile, two veterans sneak off to gleefully hoist one of the students' bikes up the hose tower.
When he came up with this idea, Cust wasn't sure whether the students would be accepted by his senior officers. But since the students came on board, he's noticed fewer "blue streaks" in the hall and more respectful conduct between all members.
"It brought a freshness. It brought this new life into our hall," Cust says.
Not one to shy away from releasing people who don't have the required commitment, Cust admits cryptically that some of the students have needed a slight attitude adjustment since coming on board. But all of the original 10 have "toed the line" and are still around.
"Had the discussion," Cust said. "They understand why we're here. I'm not running a country club."
The students
Kadyk feels that firefighting is in her blood and the program is a good way to test-drive the career without spending thousands on training.
"My grandpa did it and I like helping out in the community instead of sitting at a desk," she said. "It's challenging but it's very fun. The guys in the department are fun to be around."
Overall, the experience has solidified her desire to pursue firefighting as a career.
Grade 10 student Cody Gervais is also looking at the program as an early introduction to a future career. In his first weeks of active duty, he logged hours at the Redwater fires and attended two motor vehicle collisions.
He feels that his experiences have already made him more mature. While his friends think his sideline is "pretty sweet," it is challenging and sometimes unpleasant.
"Probably going to the car crashes and seeing the blood and injured people. It's not really fun," he said.
At his second motor vehicle call, Gervais helped to clean up fluid spills and keep the area clear as a badly injured man was flown to hospital.
"At the time you don't know really what to feel. You're just kind of there to do the job," he said. "Then after, you kind of think about it.
"It's definitely quiet on the ride home."
The students can opt out of firefighting if they have schoolwork or exams. They do extra work to make up for missed class time. But, like other firefighters, they keep their radios on night mode and haul themselves to the hall in the middle of the night.
Grade 11 student Jen Tucci remembers one call that came at 1 a.m.
"I woke up. I got my mom to drive me down. We come in our pyjamas and whatever and throw on our gear," she said. "It's really weird. You're so tired and then you have all this adrenaline, all this energy."
Tucci is one student who wouldn't have considered a career in firefighting if not for this high school course.
"I was looking into fitness training and then I got into this and I really enjoy it," she said. "I might just want to be a firefighter now."
