Larissa Black is interested in a physically demanding job. That’s why the 18-year-old participated in the junior fire academy last year and is excited for the upcoming annual event on Saturday, April 29.
“I know there’s not a lot of girls in it,” she says about why she signed up last year. Expecting a tour, she got a workout instead. “I never knew it would be that hard.”
It didn’t stop her from loving it.
“I think my favourite part was taking apart the cars,” Black says.
Vicki Schenk, career programs coordinator for Howe Sound Secondary School, put out the call for interested students who applied and chose 15. There are four girls this year, as opposed to two in the previous years.
“I was blown away at the level of preparation that the volunteer firefighters did in terms of developing the scenarios,” Schenk says.
The experience is unique, she explains, having seen the impact on the students who began to understand the amount of dedication, training and complexity of communication and skill required last year.
“I think that was eye-opening,” she says. In terms of a one-day event, Schenk says it is the only thing like it.
Neil Deo, a Squamish volunteer firefighter, pushed for the event three years ago because he wanted to get more people involved in the fire service.
“We have a great training facility in Squamish,” he says, with departments from all over the Lower Mainland using the sites.
The day-long academy simulates real life situations firefighters face. The students wear full gear for the fire-fit challenge, dragging an approximately 200-pound dummy using hoses. With oxygen masks, they enter a smokehouse to look for patients in a dark building with theatrical smoke and screaming patients.
Parents are invited after lunch for the main event – auto excavation.
A wrecked car with three patients inside is brought to the site, where students will cut roofs and doors, check batteries and use the Jaws of Life with the assistance of the BC Paramedics.
This year they were lucky enough to get around $6,000 in sponsorship and hope for more next year, says Deo. Leftover funds will be split into two bursaries for participants who apply.
After 10 years in the department, Deo says being involved in the service has made him “a lot more confident in every aspect of my life.”
