Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Ronnie Robertson

Advance Fire Dept.

ADVANCE – The 10th annual Advance Fire Camp was a great success.

Open to rising sixth through ninth graders, it gave campers a glimpse of what firefighters do every day.

Camp began Monday, June 19 at 8:30 with pledge, prayer, review of the rules and a quick tour of the fire station.

All campers then mounted the fire trucks for a ride to the first activity.  The morning exercise involved fire hose deployment, advancement, and nozzle operation.

Everyone took a turn as nozzle person, and hose backup person as they advanced the charged  line and then hit a target.  To promote a spirit of team work, campers were placed on two teams and a competitive version of the old time bucket brigade was held.

The morning ended with a lesson on sprinkler operations and each camper having to wedge off a flowing sprinkler head.

Following lunch, campers were instructed about the protective turnout gear and  breathing equipment (SCBA) firefighters wear.  Everyone practiced putting all the gear and SCBA on.  Then the competition began to determine who could get their gear on the quickest.

Tuesday began much the same with pledge, prayer, and review of the rules.

The morning activity centered around a wrecked car and how to extricate injured people. Campers practiced removing a victim and were able to work with extrication tools.

The next activity was DECON. Campers were contaminated with flour and learned how the decontamination wash is done. After everyone changed into dry clothes, the evening was broken into four activities: repelling, searching the safety house to save the  baby, time in the driving simulator, and CPR.

The final day began as all the others.  Following pledge and prayer, the campers began a round  robin of events that included, a ride up on the aerial ladder, knot tying, dressing in gear and SCBA and learning about fire behavior and flashover.

A flashover box was used to contain a fire and the campers were able to use a fire hose to control it.

The evening activities included basic first aid, have a tour of a Davie EMS ambulance, and drone operations. The last event was a team version of the Firefighter Challenge Competition.

The camp concluded with a hamburger and hotdog cookout for campers and their families.

The campers put on a demonstration of the Firefighter Challenge and were presented certificates.