Cd'A Fire Department launches Fire Cadet Program
<p>Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy senior Michael Graves, pictured here with Capt. Bill Deruyter of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, is one of three students participating in the fire department’s new Cadet Program this semester.</p>
<p>Coeur d'Alene High School senior Seth Ruane is one of three students participating in the fire departments new Cadet Program this semester. The program is designed to give students interested in the profession a "backstage look" at being a firefighter.</p>
The Coeur d'Alene Fire Department recently started a training program to give high school seniors a "backstage look" at what it's like to be a firefighter.
Craig Etherton, fire inspector for the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department, said the Fire Cadet Program is designed for students who are looking at public safety as a career.
"We think it's a good opportunity for (the students) to look at it and decide whether it's what they want to do," Etherton said.
Cadets are assigned to a station and crew, where they must complete a minimum of 80 hours throughout the semester to earn elective credit.
Up to nine students will be selected to participate in the program each semester. Etherton said the department has three stations, with three shifts each, and it is left up to each shift as to whether they can take a cadet for the semester. He said if a station or shift has a lot of training or special projects planned during that time, they may decide to opt out.
Three students are currently participating in the first semester of the program. Etherton said the cadets are not allowed to do any actual medical procedures or go into a fire, but they do go on calls and participate in training.
Etherton said students have job-shadowed at the department for several years already, but they come in two or three times and maybe run one or two calls.
"We can't generate calls for them," he said. "There is an ebb and flow to what we do."
This program, by requiring 80 hours, allows more time and increases the opportunity for the students to learn basic training skills and see the firefighters in action.
"They get to see what we actually go through," Etherton said. "It's one thing to see it in the movies and say 'yeah that's what I want to do.' It's another thing to be on scene and consoling a family member because something bad just happened."
The process to become a cadet is designed to mimic the process of becoming an entry-level firefighter with an "extensive" application, a physical agility test, a formal interview and a "mini-academy" for those who are successful.
Cadets are required to log their hours on a timesheet and will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the semester. Each crew is encouraged to provide a letter of recommendation for the cadet — if they earn it — and do something special with the cadet, such as a family dinner.
In a press release issued Thursday, firefighter and program coordinator Greg Thaxton said department personnel realize cadets have other obligations, such as sports, work, jobs and homework.
"We can work with the cadet to accommodate those obligations, but they are required to be here when they say they will; absences and/or tardiness are not acceptable," Thaxton stated in the press release.
Laura Rumpler, director of communications for Coeur d'Alene Public Schools, said in an email to The Press Friday the school district is "very excited" to be in partnership with the fire department to provide a hands-on opportunity for the students to explore a "very demanding and rewarding career" as a first responder.
"The city of Coeur d'Alene has some of the finest public servants who keep our community safe," she wrote. "What an amazing opportunity for our students to be mentored by such quality individuals. We look forward to this partnership and continuing to expand college and career opportunities for our students."
High school seniors interested in the Cadet Program should contact their school counselor before the start of the next semester to submit an application.