The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department High School Fire Science Program
By: Leonard S.
Simmons, Paramedic Captain,
Training and Leadership Leadership Academy
Springdale, MD –
It’s a cool, rainy and quiet morning at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in
northern Prince George’s County. In the
parking lot of the school building about fifteen students in firefighter helmets
stand around an old fire engine, ignoring the rain while methodically folding
dirty, wet and heavy fire hose.
It is a peculiar
sight for teenagers to be out in the elements performing gritty, physical work. But for students in the High School Fire
Science Program (HSFSP), this is not an unusual day. Whether it’s hot or cold, rain or shine, preparing
high school students for operational readiness as a Fire and EMS professional is
the objective of the program.
The fire science
program is a two year program for juniors and seniors and part of Prince
George’s County Public School’s Department of College & Career Readiness. The
Program Director, Deputy Fire Chief Tiffany Green says, “It is geared toward
mentoring students in the areas of Fire Science and for Health Care careers. It
is designed to introduce them to our department and to careers that are
oriented toward public safety. The idea is to help them develop a concept of
public service while learning some of the Fire Service disciplines,” she said.
This year the fire
science program been expanded to Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine, MD where
13 juniors are enrolled. School and
Fire/EMS Department officials are hopeful the program will soon be open to all
eligible high school students throughout the County. The program offers eight courses
related to fire suppression and emergency medical services with the goal of
having the students test for professional certifications in these subjects. Students who complete the program could potentially
obtain college credits for the courses and graduate with nationally recognized
certifications required for employment.
Several similar
fire science programs exist throughout the state. In Prince George’s County the
program has an “off and on” history dating as far back as 1968 while gaining
momentum in the last five years under current County Fire Chief Marc S. Bashoor.
In 1968, Steve Edwards was
a member of the first known fire science class in Prince George’s County
located at Suitland High School. His involvement led to a 25-year
career which culminated in his ascension to the rank of Fire Chief. “The school
system wanted people to transition from high school to a job. The program gave
us job skills. It gave us the knowledge,
skills and abilities to be a firefighter at a young age. At that age, college wasn’t on my mind. I was
the first person to attend college in my family,” said Edwards.
Edwards, who
retired from the Fire/EMS Department in 1993, is now the Director of the
Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (MFRI), which supports fire science programs
throughout the state. He recalls a very different program when he started.
“There were just four kids. We didn’t
have all of the classes and curriculums they have now…Firefighter I, II and
EMT. We had ride-alongs for different
things like inspections and actually worked at the fire stations for $2.50 per
hour. We went to school in the morning
and then drove to the training academy in the afternoons.”
During this time
period there was no County fire department but a Department of Fire
Protection that reported to five County Commissioners. In 1970 a charter was
ratified to establish the current County Fire Department.
The program has
been at Flowers High School since 2012. From its inception, 32 students have completed the program. Of these participants, 29 have obtained
professional certifications in Firefighter I; 23 in Firefighter II; 31 in
Hazmat Operations; and 18 in Emergency Medical Responder. The coursework is rigorous and orienting high
school students to a college level curriculum has been a consistent challenge,
particularly in the emergency medical courses.
These courses are historically difficult even for professional firefighters who are trained in the career academy. Because of this, the staff is constantly
reforming their educational strategies to optimize student performance.
“We work to
adapt our adult learning environment to a high school student. The attention spans are different. You must have a lot of patience. You have
to use different techniques to engage them. Students have an additional
workload being in high school. We only
see the kids about two or three hours a day so the concepts are not always
fully developed. Then we have to deal
with the regular ups and downs of teenagers,” said Green.
Even with the challenging
academics, the students do not hesitate to express their enjoyment in being
involved. Cadet Nicholas Mufua, a senior at Flowers, plans on applying for a job
in the fire service and taking community college classes once he graduates.
“It
gives you a great head start if you are interested in joining the fire department. If you are not interested in the fire department,
it gives you a lot of life skills that will help you in the future. The
instructors are really good. They put a
lot of effort and time into helping you with the classwork. Sometimes it’s a little irritating because
you have to do things that you really don’t understand. For example, I didn’t understand why we had
to shave until I took Firefighter I and realized that you have to shave in
order for your mask [breathing apparatus] to seal correctly,” explained Mufua.
Cadet
Casim McCatty, a senior at Flowers has recognized a difference in her
self-confidence, “At first when I started, I was a lot more quiet. The program developed my leadership
skills. I am much better now in
conversations. We have learned teamwork
and how to depend on others.”
Cadet Mufua also
adds that his participation has made him aware of the high standard of conduct
that is required of those who provide public service. “The other students think
it’s a cool program to be in, especially the freshman and sophomores. It seems like they look up to us as leaders
and expect us to do the right thing in comparison to what other students might
do. They seem to have higher
expectations of us. They expect us to be
more mature than everybody else,” Mufua explains.
While the
benefits are obvious for the students, in the background there are administrative
challenges in facilitating a fire science program. A key to success is effectively merging the
differences in how a school system operates vs. a public safety agency. When two
large public agencies attempt to collaborate on a project, it requires significant
commitment and communication from partners on both sides. Green said this process has evolved over the
last few years. “From the Fire Department’s
perspective, it was making sure we conform to the rules and regulations of the
schools. We had to learn things like working
around the school’s schedule; giving the student’s bathroom breaks; and the
process for discipline or removing students who are not fit for the program.”
“For the school
system, it is understanding things like our instructional requirements: the
hours needed to complete a Firefighter I course; how many practical evolutions are required; and understanding what exactly is a practical evolution,” said Green.
Flowers High School graduated its third fire science class on June 2. Fire Fighter/Medic Lieutenant Nathan Davies, the Program Coordinator at
Flowers, has been working with the program for more than one year. Davies, along with Fire Fighter Joan Robinson-Godfrey
and Fire Fighter/Medic Antoine Robinson has regularly given hours of extra personal time on
weekends and afterschool to support the students. For Davies and his staff, leading the Cadets
to their celebrated cap and gown moment is not among the typical duties of a firefighter. It requires complete,
personalized dedication to the students.
“We have really
become like a family. I enjoy the
opportunity to give back and inspire young minds where I can. There is a lot of
time involved in this program. Sometimes
it is a bit frustrating but then it is nice to watch them grow and develop, and
watch them take what they have learned here and apply it to their life and
their career,” said Davies.
Miscellaneous Images of Gwynn Park and Charles Flowers High School
Fire Science Program
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