A dedicated firefighter hopes to fan the flames by giving area teens an opportunity to train like a real firefighter at a day camp this summer.
The Redwood Meadows Emergency Services (RMES) is hosting two week-long Fire Cadet Camps for community and area teens ages 14 to 17, in July and August at Redwood House in Redwood Meadows.
This day camp’s programming is based on new recruit firefighter training and RMES captain Gary Robertson and other trained firefighters will act as camp councillors and provide participants with a professional firefighter education.
“This summer camp will provide students with a safe and authentic firefighting training experience,” said Robertson. “We’re essentially going to put them through the same training that we put our probationary firefighters through.”
Participants will spend the week learning search and rescue techniques, how to use hoses and hydrants to extinguish fires, and vehicle extraction using firefighting tools and equipment.
“The cadets will learn how firefighters search through a smoke-filled environment to find people using self-contained breathing apparatus,” said Robertson. “They will also get to cut a car apart with the ‘Jaws of Life’ and rescue the ‘patients’ inside.”
The cadets will be fitted with their own set of turnout gear (firefighter suits) and will get to use and set up their own fire truck during the week.
“The Fire Cadet Camp is going to be fun and the students will get a really great experience out of it,” said Robertson. “They will also get the chance to make some new friends.”
The students will also receive certified Canadian Red Cross Emergency First Aid and CPR Level A courses.
The Fire Cadet Camp is primarily intended for local teens from Redwood Meadows, Bragg Creek, Springbank, Tsuu T’ina First Nation and Cochrane, but applicants from outside communities may be able enroll if there is space available.
Robertson, who has spent 10 years with the RMES, grew up in Redwood Meadows, and created the program’s curriculum to give local teenagers the opportunity to participate in a professional firefighting camp close to home.
As a teen, he attended a fire cadet camp in Calgary, but would have preferred to attend one in his community.
The RMES Fire Cadet Camp will be held July 15-19 and Aug. 12-16 and camp hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The registration fee is $300 per person, on a first-come-first-served basis, and there are 12 spots available per week.
For more information and to register visit rmesfire.org/firecadetcamp.
If you have any questions email [email protected] or visit the facebook page at facebook.com/FireCadetCamp.
