- October is National Fire Prevention Month.
- Video gives you an inside look at the Fire Academy at Lansing Community College.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
When it comes to firefighting a fire hose serves as a lifeline.
At Lansing Community College's West Campus, you'll find students like Alivia Ruwart suiting up and getting ready to take on the challenge of becoming a firefighter.
"I really like it. There's definitely harder days than others," Ruwart said.
The Fire Academy is a 17-week program that prepares students for the real world.
"We have significant amount of a number of other courses that are part of the course that sets our academy apart from others in the state," said Tim Baker who is the training chief for Lansing Community College regional fire training center.
The program sets them apart and helps students achieve their dreams.
"We do a lot of hands-on work, which helps me learn," Ruwart said.
Students will be tasked to complete things like a basement fire simulation.
"We started on what we consider a first floor, go down the stairs into what would simulate a basement and do techniques that you know we would do to extinguish the fire that's in a in a basement," Baker said.
And they also learn to climb to new heights.
"Taking a charged hose line into a second story window and then doing some cleanup operations and fire attack that way," Baker said.
And like the real thing you might walk into a training that's heated.
"We do live fire. We do that whole week. In that can we've got eight different burned rooms will have two rooms going on at the same time," Baker said. "Temperatures can get up to 1,000 degrees," Baker said.
The course will wrap up in December for these students but they are hoping many more will join so they can help spread fire prevention throughout their communities.
"Right now there's there's a desperate need for firefighters. Staffing levels are pretty much an all time low," Baker said. "Fire safety all year long, not just in the month of October."
The next fire academy will start again in January. There will be an open house at LCC's West Campus. For more details, click here.
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
