Central Okanagan students become ‘firefighters for a day’

One day might be all it takes to ignite a new career path.

To find the next generation of firefighters, the Central Okanagan School District and Kelowna Firefighters work together to create the Firefighter Boot Camp that brings together 90 students from seven different schools.

“We all know about firefighters, we see them on the streets we had great pride of course this past summer but this day is all about showing all the behind the scenes as well,” said Sarah Wood, career and life programs career consultant.

For Grade 9 student at Dr. Knox Middle School, Luna Kim, the chance to be a firefighter for a day is an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone.

The students have been split up into four different groups to cycle through different stations.

“It’s hands-on, so the kids are putting out fires, they are running up and down the stairs with hoses and they are doing some relay races over there with hopefully some prizes at the end,” said Wood.

The full day of boot camp isn’t just an opportunity to learn about the station and the firefighters who make it run but also a chance for aspiring firefighters to get some hands-on experience.

“It gives the kids a familiarity with the fire department and we just want to let them know there are other branches within the fire department that make it so successful in its operation it’s not only fire suppression, we have fire prevention, there’s the training branch, there’s dispatch,” said Brock Syrnyk, acting fire prevention officer.

The program is clearly working as two young hopefuls are up for the challenge.

“It’s kind of always interested me, being able to help people but also putting out fires,” said Grade 10 student at Kelowna Senior Secondary, Jack Kozak.

Grade 11 student at Rutland Senior Secondary, Ashton Dekker, says the idea of not working in an office is attractive to him.

“It’s just the teamwork, all the hands-on physical kind of thing. It’s different every day, everything changes, and there’s no office work — it’s out in the field hands-on work,” said Dekker.

If the two go on to apply and be accepted they will join the ranks of others who found their calling at the Firefighter Boot Camp program that has been running for two decades.