Thirteen students in District Five have earned Firefighter I Certificates through the Fire & Rescue course at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies (The Center).
The Fire & Rescue class is a year long course. In the first year, students earn the following certifications: FEMA; I-100; I-200; I-700; I-800; First Aid and CPR; Hazardous Materials Awareness; Hazardous Materials Operations; and Firefighter One. Second year students earn Auto Extrication and Firefighter II certifications.
The School District Five students earning Firefighter I Certification represent all four high schools this year and include: Connor Campbell, Braeden Davis and Bailey Lunsford from Chapin High; Julia Grondell, Benjamin Rivera, Peyton Moor, and Liam Schellpeper from Dutch Fork High; Tyler Garner from Irmo High; and Marley Brown, Maddux Kershaw Sutton, and Kai White from Spring Hill High.
“This group of students has overcome their fear of heights, their fear of being claustrophobic, from not wanting to workout, to wanting to workout more,” said Captain Mike Greer, Fire & Rescue Instructor at The Center. “They have accomplished learning over 115 hands-on skills in one semester and passing a 100-question written test. That says a lot for these students when they still have to pass all their other classes. That shows their pride and dedication to this class and the fire service. I look forward to having them back next year for the Firefighter II Class.”
The certifications Fire & Rescue students earn are career ready certifications that give students an advantage when applying to a fire department after graduation because their application will be moved closer to the top of hundreds of other applicants that do not have any certifications.
First year Fire and Rescue students log 179 hours of academic time, and countless hours of hands-on skills time. Students participate in a very strenuous circuit exercise every day to prepare for the job, have to learn how to work with each other and trust in each other and learn about Integrity, Honor, Respect, and Pride.
“Captain Greer does an excellent job engaging his students and strengthening the Fire and Rescue program,’ said Assistant Director of Career and Technical Education, Roy Frick. “The Fire and Rescue course at The Center is an invaluable resource to our students and local stations in recruiting and service to our community. Over the past three years, many of his students have earned their Fire and Rescue certifications and gone on to become full-time firefighters serving stations based in our local area.”
