6 minute read
CCFR Explorer program creates future firefighters and more
BY CLAY NEELY
Workforce recruitment is a crucial issue for most industries, including public safety. For decades, Coweta County Fire Rescue has prioritized the development of local talent to help bolster its ranks.
Coweta County Fire Explorers Post 700 provides high school students ages 14-17 a challenging educational opportunity to learn more about Fire/ EMS and see if a career in the field is right for them.
At Station 1, Creighton Smith, Dawson Hughes and Ian Bango are the three latest graduates of the Explorer program and have joined Coweta County FIre Rescue. Sitting in the office of Chief Robby Flanagan, they said the program went beyond their expectations in helping them choose a career in public safety.
The course teaches students about fire suppression/ hose advancement, search and rescue, forcible entry, crash victim extrication, fire ground hydraulics, physical training and EMS. However, an emphasis on leadership and accountability ensures students are prepared for life beyond the fire station.
“It’s not just for people who want to do fire service,” Hughes said. “Some might join the military or police, but they all want to (participate in the Explorers program) because they learn about leadership and responsibility.”
All potential Explorers must earn their way into the program. Each candidate must attend four meetings without being tardy, show engagement and demonstrate an ability to effectively communicate.
If those criteria are met and the application process is completed, the new recruit will take home old firefighting gear that has aged out.
At home, Explorers are required to maintain their gear. They are encouraged to physically work out with their new equipment and take full responsibility for its upkeep.
“If your gear gets messed up, you have to go through a chain of command,” Hughes said. “It helps you understand what it means to take
full responsibility for your stuff. It’s not something your parents can fix.”
Everything but fighting fires
Explorers meet after school at Station 9 every Thursday. From 4:30-9 p.m., they absorb everything, learning the physical and mental requirements to become exceptional firefighter EMTs.
For physical training, Explorers wear full gear. They stretch and do jumping jacks before getting down to the hard stuff like flipping and dragging tires and other exercises that mimic real-world duties they’ll need to be able to physically perform.
CCFR instructors come up with curricula for the Explorers, who learn the basics of hose control, charging and advancing lines, ropes and knots for rescue. They also utilize Gentry Auto Salvage to practice extrication methods for victims of car crashes.
Explorers go through the same training as firefighters, except exposure to live fire. But they are allowed to ride on an apparatus and work a fire scene while staying in the “warm zone,” which allows them to help out and see how a live scene works.
However, they must complete textbook training before they can do these things.
“There’s always a safety aspect so they know the guidelines and rules,” Flanagan said. “When they show up to a scene, they have a purpose.” Explorers quickly learn the physicality of the job, along with the importance of hydration and nutrition, Flanagan said.
“That’s a big difference between Explorers and someone off the street who never had that kind of training,” he said. “They don’t realize the extent that these things play when being as effective as you can be.”
Hughes said the experience gained in the Explorer program helped him in recruit school.
“You’d be surprised how much schoolwork is involved,” he said. “We had chapters of work, learning different parts of fire behavior, and other things like how many trucks we have in Coweta and where the stations are. We stayed fresh thanks to Explorers, and PT (physical training) wasn’t as hard when you could answer those questions correctly.”
The Explorer program has been utilized in different capacities by fire departments for decades. Coweta Firefighter Mathew Marchbank participated in the program in another county from 1988-1992 but said his experience was different from what present-day Explorers see.
“When I had questions, they made me figure it out on my own,” he said.
“Now, they are like our kids. You don’t want them to figure it out the wrong way, so you show them the correct way so they can pass that along.”
Explorers are generally very self-motivated, according to Marchbank.
“When someone is good at a specific task, it speeds up the learning process so other candidates can learn from them without tying up an instructor,” he said.
Ultimately, Marchbank said he wants CCFR to help build thinkers who can make critical decisions that positively impact everyone.
“The team effort, that's when you really see the success,” he said.
“If you’re having trouble mentally, physically, we’re there for the program. It all benefits Coweta County Fire.”
Hughes said he quickly learned that being a good firefighter isn’t about being the best person, but ensuring the rest of the team is taken care of.
“Being the fastest or best at something doesn’t mean anything if you’re not looking out for someone else,” he said. “There’s a sense of family that runs deep.”
Flanagan said family is important, both at the fire station and at home, so family nights allow the parents of Explorers to come to see their kids show off their skills.
Ready to work
Since completing the Explorers program, Smith, Hughes and Bango have gone on to become firefighter EMTs with Coweta County Fire Rescue. Other Explorers who are preparing to finish the program will be pursuing other opportunities not related to firefighting, including the armed services.
“One of them cited the heavy training required by the Explorer program as the reason he kept coming back and pushing harder,” Smith said.
Now that they’re full-time firefighters, each one cited the moment they realized it wasn’t just training anymore.
For Smith, it was performing a slope evacuation on the side of the interstate.
Hughes cracked a smile when he talked about the adrenaline rush he felt responding to a structure fire for the first time.
Bango said taking responsibility for helping a helicopter land safely was a feeling he won’t soon forget.
“When you have to land something, it’s usually a bad situation, so it’s a big deal being with the patient while all that happens,” he said.
As they continue to work different stations and different calls, the former Explorers’ experience keeps building, according to Marchman.
“We couldn’t be more proud,” he said.
