From dual enrollment programs to internships, students are greeted with an abundance of opportunities to get involved in when deciding their desired career paths. One hidden gem that offers such an opportunity is the Fire Science & Rescue Cadet program located at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy in Gaithersburg. Juniors and seniors from all high school clusters in MCPS are eligible to apply where they prepare for a variety of careers in fire prevention and control and emergency medical technology.
Senior Rowan Streaker and junior Dylan Lacroix have been partaking in this program since the start of the school year. Streaker is in the emergency medical technology (EMT) program and Lacroix is in the fire prevention and control program. Lacroix first learned about this program through his counselor.
“My counselor told me about it once I mentioned that I wanted to join the Coast Guard,” Lacroix said.
Lacroix relayed this information to his friend and teammate, Streaker, who also took interest in the program.
“I learned all about [the program] through Dylan whom I’m really grateful to for telling me about this cool opportunity. I completed all my required credits and I wanted to try something new because I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as a career, so this was something I really needed,” Streaker said.
Streaker and Lacroix spend part of the day in their home high school and also attend formal training at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy.
“Because I have all my credits done, I go to my first three periods and after, since my fourth period is a travel period, mid way through, I go outside to take a bus that takes us to the fire academy. I go to class which ends around 1:30 p.m. and then wait for the buses after changing out of our uniform and then get to school between 2:00 to 2:30,” Streaker said.
EMT and fire prevention and control are two different areas in the program, and while both have interactive activities and lectures, the subjects taught in these areas vary. In EMT classes, Streaker learns the basics of CPR and the process of handling ambulance and 911 calls.
“We’ve learned the difference between civilian CPR and EMT CPR and how to do both. We’ve also learned about medications, what you can give and what you can’t and reasons why you shouldn’t give certain medications. We go over a lot of what we need to do to be an EMT and to fully prepare you for the state and national registry exams so you can graduate highschool as a Maryland state registered EMT and nationally registered EMT,” Streaker said.
On the other hand, Lacroix undergoes technical training of handling fires in the fire prevention and control aspect of the program.
“So far we’ve learned how to force a door open with an axe, we’ve sprayed a lot of water onto different kinds of fires and we got to play with fire extinguishers,” Lacroix stated.
In order to pass the registry exam for the program, students must complete a minimum of 393 hours of work-based learning and take certification exams.
“In fire fighting and EMT class, you get college credits for each different certification you gain, in firefighting you get 3 or 4 credits and you save a lot of money. But it depends on the school but overall it does help towards college credit,” Lacroix said.
By the time they graduate from high school, students will have earned seven industry certifications and college credit. They can continue their postsecondary training at several colleges in the state. Both Streaker and Lacroix believe that this program is a really great opportunity for students who aren’t sure of what they want to do or for those who want to be involved in the emergency and fire control area.
“It really is an awesome program where you can be in a more interactive environment and make a lot of friends who have similar interests as you,” Streaker said.
