Think you could be a firefighter? Here's what it takes

Over seventy local school students took a stab at some of the basic tasks the Kelowna Fire Department deals with every day.

Several special stations were set up at the Enterprise Way station Tuesday to simulate various activities. They included a gruelling run up the six-storey training tower before hauling up fire hose, some fundamental fire extinguishing techniques, and learning how to control the power and direction of a fire hose when it’s in full flow.

Students were also introduced to the on-site communications centre.

“We’re trying to show them what we do, day in and day out,” Fire Prevention Officer Paul Johnson told Kelowna10. “As well, we want to show them the different jobs that are available.”

He said everyone knows about the high-visibility elements of firefighting when they see the fire trucks at the scene of an incident, but the day is also about introducing students to behind-the-scenes jobs like dispatch, inspections, planning and administration.

But it was the hands-on stuff that clearly captured the attention of the youngsters.

“Today is a fantastic day of learning for our students,” SD23 career consultant Sarah Wood said. “They’re getting out of the classroom, into the fire hall, experiencing what it’s like to be a firefighter…and having fun.”

She explained some of the students are already engaged with Central Okanagan Public Schools’ firefighting academy and Emergency Medical Responder program, but for others it was a brand new experience.

For Dr. Knox students Indira Ghosh and Shaeyllan Beardmore, it’s important to be shown potential career opportunities like this.

“I was pretty slow at it, but it was pretty fun; hard, but that’s what I expected,” Ghosh said after running up the tower for the hose haul.

“I want to expose myself to more careers and I never knew much about this kind of work,” Beardmore said.

For officer Johnson being part of the Kelowna Fire Department is a career choice he loves.

“Every day is different, it’s not the mundane task of sitting at a desk. Every day is an adventure, and everyone I work with has a great personality… lots of good laughs. It’s enjoyable.”