BERTHOUD — Recruiting new members of the fire service has been streamlined by allowing Loveland and Berthoud high school students to enroll in college-level fire science courses and train with professional firefighters.
Currently, 10 students from the three public Loveland high schools and Berthoud High School are taking introductory fire science courses through Aims Community College, and practicing basic firefighting skills weekly with Berthoud Fire Protection District firefighters at the fire station at 4014 W. County Road 8E.
On Wednesday, pupils such as Thompson Valley High School senior Matt Wlodarchk performed drills alongside three Berthoud firefighters to learn the proper way to lay hose when battling a structure fire. Last week, the students practiced using tools to extricate a motor vehicle accident victim from a damaged car.
Not only do the classes offered through Aims benefit the high school students, but they are a tool for BFPD personnel to gauge the interest of young people in entering the fire service.
“To have this option as a high schooler is a heck of a head start,” said BFPD Engineer Monty Kitzman.
Aims allows students to receive up to 12 credits toward their fire science degrees through four courses before they even graduate high school, said Brian Martens, the instructor who teaches the classes.
When a young person discovers an interest in pursuing a career in firefighting, fire departments take notice and sometimes sponsor such prospective firefighters by sending them through an official fire academy to become a certified firefighter.
Prior experience training with professional firefighters as a teenager can be crucial for completing through the academy.
“It takes the scariness out of it,” Kitzman said.
Even when Martens’ students are not attracted toward a firefighting career, his entry-level classes sometimes open avenues toward other emergency service positions. For example, Emma Wyant, a Berthoud High School student, is interested in becoming an emergency medical service provider due to her participation in drills with Berthoud firefighters.
Of course, the professional firefighters avoid taking it easy on the high school students during training sessions, as providing a true reflection of the work becoming a certified firefighter requires is just as important as sparking interest in becoming a firefighter.
“We’re trying to give them a taste of what a pain in the butt moving hose is,” Kitzman said. “There’s more technique to it than you think. We’d like to see them do it smooth, which equals fast in the long run.”
Wlodarchk admitted it was difficult to position the hose line correctly when unwinding it during a drill Wednesday.
Kitzman said about half of the current BFPD personnel began pursuing their first fire service positions during high school with similar programs such as the one offered by Aims.
That wasn’t the case when Kitzman began his firefighting career, though, as he said the standard route was to become a firefighter at a volunteer fire department before working up to a full-time paid position.
Sam Lounsberry: 970-635-3630, slounsberry@prairiemountainmedia.com and twitter.com/samlounz.
