By Robert Taylor
The Boerne Fire Department recently wrapped up its third annual Junior Fire Academy, a week of fire and life safety training for kids ages 10 to 12 years old.
Twenty eager kids became junior cadets for the week and took part in different classes and training exercises each day led by firefighters.
“The cadets were introduced to some of the skills required of Boerne firefighters, including donning bunker gear, confined space search and rescue, rescue carries, tying knots, and ladder carries,” Fire Chief Manny Casarez said. “It was a great opportunity for our firefighters to engage with the community in support of the department’s vision to continuously improve community safety and security.”
The group started with an overview of firefighting and the trucks and equipment the department uses on the more than 2,000 service calls they respond to each year. They learned about the science of fires and thermodynamics, as well as how to use a fire extinguisher in common scenarios like a kitchen fire.
Cadets also received first aid training with hands on demonstrations to learn CPR, the Heimlich maneuver, stop the bleed techniques, and how to apply a tourniquet.
“Kids see the trucks go by and are mesmerized, but they often don’t really get a chance to be up close it,” Chief Casarez said. “This program allows kids who are interested in firefighting the chance to learn about what we do and the training and values we try to instill in our firefighters.”
On the final day of the academy, the group was divided into four teams of five cadets to compete in the gauntlet – a set of challenges that incorporated the skills they learned throughout the week.
For one of the challenges, the hose drill, cadets put on full bunker gear including pants, jacket, and helmet to simulate a scenario firefighters can experience in the field. A fire hose is sprawled on the ground and woven back and forth on top of itself much like it can be when dragged from room to room in a burning building. Cadets are then blindfolded to simulate a smoke-filled, zero-visibility situation and must navigate as a team on their hands and knees out of the challenge by following the hose.
“This challenge reinforces teambuilding and communication as the cadets have to work together, never losing contact with one another or the hose, to find their way out,” Fire Marshal Robert Lee said. “We teach them to follow the hose and how to identify the couplings on the hose to orient themselves and make sure the direction they are following leads out of the simulated fire and not further in.”
Team Fire Shells took home the top spot in the gauntlet with the quickest overall time in all the challenges combined. Special awards were given to cadets for outstanding achievements and each cadet received a certificate for completing the Junior Fire Academy.
The academy was organized and led by Fire Inspector Collin Rogers with help from firefighters from each shift. While the kids had a blast throughout the week, the goal for Rogers and the department is education and preparedness.
“My main priority is ensuring we can send the kids back home with valuable life safety skills and a knowledge of what to do if they find themselves or a loved one in an emergency situation,” Rogers said. “We hope they never have to use these skills, but we want to encourage them to be in a mindset of preparedness.”
The Fire Department hosts the Junior Fire Academy each summer with plans to continue it again in 2025.
