CHESTER, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – Chester County students are geared up and ready for their final fire assessment. Eight students enrolled in the Chester Career Center’s Fire Training course are at the county’s training grounds completing a state assessment. That includes fighting live fires.
Eight students are out at Chester County’s Fire Training facility completing their final assessment with the South Carolina Fire Academy for their firefighter one certification. Students reflecting on what the program’s taught them.
Two students in the Chester Career Center course say the program has taught them, ” Brotherhood, discipline, they teach you respect.”
The Chester Career Center’s Fire Instructors, firefighters themselves, say it’s been an amazing process watching students mature and wanting to give back to their community in this way.
Micheal Waits, Chester Career Center Fire EMS Instructor, says, “A lot of maturity, a lot of understanding that you need to listen, that there are certain ways that things are done. Even though they may have their own input on it there’s certain ways that we do things in the fire service and once they realize that we’re teaching them the appropriate way then it’s like a lightbulb goes off. So from basically since the first week in January to now, these kids matured a lot and really took a vested interest in the class.”
Students come through with 130 hours of instruction to be prepared for this 5 to 6 hour assessment today. Course instructors saying that this increases their heritability right after graduation.
Fire EMS Instructor, Lt. Dean Naniot says, “When I came through, this program was not here. Being if we can get them in and catch them young. About I would say at least 70% of our students over the last four years that have come through this program in some way shape or form are now out in the county as county firemen. We’ve had some that came and did here in the city, and we also have a full-time female fire fighter with the city that came out of our program.”
And more young women are getting involved. Of the eight students completing this assessment five are females. They say it’s been an empowering experience breaking into the male dominated field.
Samaya Dixon, an 11th Grade Fire EMS student says, “I feel like, I guess it could be kind of hard because you know the men think that you can’t do what you can do you but you know what you can do.”
Lauren Crosby, another 11th Grade Fire EMS student, saying, “Most of the men aren’t going to listen to you but you have to show them that you’ll actually do the work.”
Instructors say more emergency responders are needed in the area and programs like this one are crucial.
“Recruitment and retention is a big of the fire service now. There’s not a lot of people knocking the doors down to get into the fire service. So, being able to hopefully graduate these 8 students today and place them in the community at very various volunteer community departments or the full-time side or another county, I mean it basically just helps the community as a whole,” say Waits.
In the video above, CN2’s Rachel Richardson is in Chester speaking with the Career Center’s fire students and instructors about what this moment means for the community.
