Earlier I signed up for the Duncanville Citizens Fire Academy. Today I got a letter saying I've been accepted for their next twelve week class starting on June 19, 2008.

Jeanette Isabelle

Congrats!

Ditto the congratulations.

sweet!!!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

This should be a great learning experience,,,,in more ways than one.

Congats, and good luck. I presume you have been running and working out a lot. Fireguys admire that, and the job requires it...

Thank-you, everyone. What I am most interested in is the instruction in CPR and first aid. Of course I will be learning more than that. . . .


I hope the PPE will fit over my glasses. If not, I can manage without my glasses.

Jeanette Isabelle

I wonder if there will be any other women in my class. We'll see.

Jeanette Isabelle

My brother wears medium sized lenses and he can get his mask on no trouble.

For those of us who don't know(read: Me) can you please explain what this class is about?

Can you say, "Boot Camp" for basic team firefighters? That's why I said that JeanetteIsabelle will learn far more than just the basic firefighting skills. This will be an experience in which you learn a great deal about yourself. The secret is not to give up.

The link I gave you should answer all of your questions. More specifically, here is the Course Overview.

Jeanette Isabelle

"...students are encouraged to participate in any portion of the test they feel comfortable with..."

If you are serious about this, I would suggest that you try everything! You might have to attempt if for real some day...

Thanks for the tip. I will.

Jeanette Isabelle

Very cool Jeanette! I didn't know such a program existed. Hmm, you think one of the many firemen I've encountered would have said something about it to me...

-Blast

They were probably too busy bandaging you

^^^^^^ bandaging you while trying to get the cat out of the tree that attacked you!

Jeanette,

I think you will both enjoy and learn a lot about the Fire/Rescue Service and gain an appreciation for what it takes to be an emergency responder. As OBG has suggested try everything, even those parts of the class where you may be apprehensive, you will learn a lot about yourself and may surprise yourself as what you can do under stressful conditions.

We have a Citizen’s Police Academy, but not a comparable program for the Fire Service, so I will be interested in your experiences and observations.

Don’t worry if your glasses cannot fit under the SCBA mask, it is unlikely you will be able to see anything anyway in the smoky conditions, you will learn to get around by feel.

Take care, have fun and stay safe-
Pete

The women actually outnumbered the men.

Jeanette Isabelle

"^^^^^^ bandaging you while trying to get the cat out of the tree that attacked you!"

Blast was attacked by a tree, TOO???!!! How fast was it moving?

Sue

oh oops! LOL! I meant the cat, that attacked him, was stuck in the tree!

Jeanette, congrats! It's sure to be fun.

If I may make a suggestion: if you plan on doing the SCBA/Fire training they make available, I would strongly suggest you learn to love life without air conditioning. In addition to physically working out (running, weights, etc), part of the problem with fires is heat exhaustion. Being more acclimated to hotter temps means you'll be more effective.

Many of the FF's I know in SoCal (where I volunteered for years) wouldn't have A/c in the stations, or use it in their cars, during the summer months.