Seventeen-year-old Lauren Burnham is following in the footsteps of her stepfather, a firefighter in the Marcellus Fire Department.
At 14, Burnham decided she wanted to become a firefighter in a major city like Chicago or Los Angeles.
The 5’4 teenager said her stepdad’s colleagues laughed when she told them her aspirations.
“I like to prove them wrong,” Burnham, of Edwardsburg, said.
She is one of 10 Cass County high school students in the Educational Talent Search (ETS) Fire Academy. The ETS is a grant program administered by Southwestern Michigan …

Some students hit the science books for summer camps, others put on the football pads and helmet to gain skills for the gridiron.
These students prefer fire hoses and breathing gear.
At the Fire Academy North Dakota, 14 students from across the state are here learning the tricks of a dangerous trade from 42-year fire-fighting veteran Darrell Graf, Medina.
“In the classroom you don’t learn a lot,” said Jen Weichel, a Strasburg, N.D., native who is in her first year at Bismarck State University. “Here Darrell will …

Firefighters have responsibilities and obligations to uphold rescue procedures within the community. The College Station Citizen’s Fire Academy is a program for people who want to learn more about the local fire department. Participants range in age from18 to 80 years old. Day-to-day operations, injury and fire prevention programs are taught to participants.
“The most important thing is to educate citizens about what we actually do,” said Cindy Giedraitis, who is involved in public education about the Fire Academy.
The academy is offered during the spring Monday evenings and runs for 11 …

As with any occupation, even firefighting has schooling and specialized training available for those interested in pursuing a career in firefighting. The difficult thing is finding the right academy, or the best academy to suit your goals. Depending on your location, here in the United States, you may want to consider an academy close to you, however, there are some that stand out and grab attention everywhere for their results as well as their excellent instruction. One such fire academy is located in San Diego county in California, proudly offering …

Santa Clarita Valley’s prep school for firefighters is heating up.
There was a time five years ago when the William S. Hart Regional Occupational Program Fire Academy operated out of a pickup truck with no hoses, no water and just a firefighter with a vision and a couple of high school kids willing to listen.
Now that ROP academy has established itself as the go-to place for serious young firefighters.
It now has hoses — donated by fire stations, turned out after 10 years of use.
It has a mock wooden house used for …

Shawn Kerrigan was the master of disaster.
The Somerset fire lieutenant was helping his neighbor Wednesday, stoking the flames inside a house of steel and concrete where 46 fire recruits were getting their first taste of what fire, heat and smoke can do.
“Oh, it’s hot in there,” Kerrigan said, laughing. Smoke had so saturated his turnout gear that small plumes rose from the fabric whenever he moved.
He had absorbed so much heat from his time in the house that you could feel it radiate off of him from four feet away …

Billie Jo Line and Alston Lee Harris needed only one word to describe their first experience with fighting a real fire: awesome.
Line and Harris and their eight classmates in the Basic Fire Academy class at Mitchell Community College completed the final part of the three-month course Wednesday by fighting a live fire at a vacated home on Logan Street, just off Garner Bagnal Boulevard.
While it was awesome for the 10 rookie firefighters, seeing her childhood home burn was bittersweet for Thelbert Summers.
“This is so sad,” she said as she watched …

This course is designed for the individual who desires to become a certified firefighter but would prefer to take the course at their own pace through our Fire Academy online.
This course is ideal for the student who can’t take the four or more months off work to go to a formal fire academy. Individuals who wish to take this course at our fire academy should always check with local jurisdiction for details on how to become a firefighter within their individual IFSAC process.
The course is broken into two portions. The …

Applications are now available for the upcoming Academy Classes!
Visit www.fireandrescuetraining.ca.gov to download an application. (located on the “Apply” page)
Hardcopies are also available at the business office or may be mailed by request.
The California Regional Fire Academy is now accepting applications for Academy Classes scheduled to begin on Monday, November 8, 2010:
12th Academy Class ~ Full-Time Format Academy
13th Academy Class ~ Extended Format Academy
Application Deadline:
All applications must be received by the business office by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 23, 2010.
Late application submissions will not be considered for this academy process.
All …

After 10 weeks of three-hour classes on Thursday nights, the first Citizen’s Fire Academy wrapped up this week with a live burn training exercise at the Nash Community College training grounds.
“I was most surprised to learn how organized the firefighters were when they go to a fire,” Brenda Crocker said. “Everyone has a specific job. It is just amazing to me.”
Crews set fire to wood and newspapers packed into a barrel that were then placed in one corner of a training structure built from metal freight containers. Students were able …