Fire science on the mountain

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U.S. Forest Service Captain Ryan Bridger helps student Shawna Cronkrite adjust hose pressure

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Adult student Colton Buehler gets practice rolling out the hose in preparation for a fire fighting exercise.

There is a different philosophy applied to the old saying, "Where there is smoke — there is fire" at Frazier Mountain High School. It is not an uncommon sight to see students dressed in U.S. Forest Service yellow and green firefighting gear aiming water hoses at areas not on fire. They are students in the Kern County Regional Occupational Program (KCROP) Fire Science class, learning to fight fires without fires at the almost 4,000-foot-level-campus in mountainous southern Kern County.

Fire Science is one of the dozens of vocational skills offered to high school students enrolled in KCROP programs operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. It is a particularly practical one, since the students who attend Frazier Mountain High are in an area that is susceptible to forest fires in the dry days of summer, and the forest service needs new recruits to meet the demands of the season which runs May through October.

"It is an entry level course aimed at training the students to be certified as entry level firefighters at the end of the program. If they are at least 18 years of age, they can apply for voluntary firefighting positions," said U.S. Forest Service Captain Ryan Bridger, advisor to KCROP in charge of overseeing the Fire Science class. "It would be very difficult to recruit for the summer firefighting season, were it not for the program. We would have to go to campuses and recruit and then try to quickly train new recruits during the busiest part of the season. This way, the Fire Science students are ready to come on board when the season starts."

The Fire Science program began in 1998. This year's class started training on Jan. 12 and concluded April 12. Bridger said many students have found summer firefighting a good way to provide public service while earning income for college. Students can usually attend most of the school year and then take the summer off fighting fires to pay for tuition and other expenses.

As you watch them go through their paces, you see how keenly the students pay attention to detail, as they roll out hoses, prime portable pumps, adjust spray for distance and coverage, form teams to carry the hoses into battle and quickly, but carefully, rewind the hoses by hand for the next battle.

Senior Shawna Cronkrite was one of a handful of females who took the course.

"I'm looking forward to being hired right after school," Cronkrite said. "I'm applying to stations right now, and I would not be able to do that if I didn't have the experience. I want to be outdoors the rest of my life, staying healthy and helping people and this kind of work matches my needs."

Working with veteran firefighters was something that junior Chris Decker really liked about the program.

"Fighting fires runs in the family," Decker said. "My father was a firefighter and so was my grandfather. The teachers pass on their first hand experience and that is really valuable. One teacher was actually in a ‘burnover,' and he spent a whole day teaching us how to survive. I mean this training is absolutely critical for life saving. The program doesn't cost me anything, and I plan to take it again next year to be even more prepared."

Thirty-five students, representing about three percent of the school, enrolled this semester, one of the highest turnouts in the history of the program. As the school year progressed, they got lots of hands on training with portable pumps, water delivery systems and hand tools to suppress fires. They were also taught the most important lesson in fighting fires — be cautious.

This year more than 2,000 county students enrolled in vocational programs offered by KCROP. If you would like more information about the Fire Science class and what other courses KCROP offers, call (661) 824-9313, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.


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