Lake Country, BC – Senior students from throughout the Okanagan spend a week of spring break on first response skills training
Grades 11 and 12 students from George Elliot, Mount Boucherie, and Rutland Secondary schools are enjoying an immersive experience in what it is like to be a firefighter as part of a team of skilled first responders. For the second year in a row, the Lake Country Fire Department coordinated a Junior Firefighter Bootcamp for senior high school students throughout the region during the first week of spring break.
Day one students got their t-shirts and started with an intro to Fire Services Academy. First aid and basic life support including AED and Red Cross CPR training were a focus during day two, followed by personal protective equipment (PPE), self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), firefighter skills and drills, auto extrication, and aerial apparatus experience. They even got to participate in lunch prep during the course.
LCFD Firefighter Alexander Schrenk was keen to take on the lead roll for the program this year. He took time away from his plumbing apprenticeship to support the program and collect the crew of instructors for the week. Alex says: “I enjoyed building out the lesson plans and the weeklong events for the group. When I went through a program like this, it got me hooked, and I am hoping this will do the same for these students.”
Alex is very proud to be in the lead role for the instructor group and has a vested interest for top notch delivery considering he is delivering this program to his brother – a grade 11 GESS student in attendance for the week of training.
LCFD Firefighter Rayman Bassi led the program last year and is again an instructor for this session. He created and left behind the planning from last year for a new team lead to grow the program. “It is nice to see a bunch of new faces,” said Ray. “We did get two new recruits on the LCFD fire services team from the previous year’s bootcamp, which is a good sign the program is attractive and useful to participants. The future of the Lake Country Fire Department paid-on-call membership is largely impacted by the GESS programs -- this year we saw two students re-enroll in the program and hopefully they will want to join LCFD later down the road.”
Ray will be heading to Delta Fire to start his full-time career in fire fighting and comments that this program helped him communicate better and strengthened his skills by having to instruct the multi-faceted topics involved in fire fighting.
First Aid Instructor Nathan Gerein is a full time BC Ambulance paramedic who has taken on the roll of instructing the Basic Life support with CPR and AED protocols. Nathan shared that he is happy to help out and excited to see how the students progress and gain confidence in the skills taught. Nathan hopes the weeklong training will continue for years to come.
“This training program is so supportive and skill-building – in both firefighting and life skills,” said Firefighter bootcamp participant Wyatt Mackill. “I am glad to be back in the program this year because I’d like to go on to a career in first response.”
"Supporting George Elliott Senior Secondary and developing a program during spring break provides these students with the opportunity to attend a full week of immersive training from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This experience allows them to dive deep into the fire department culture, fostering both skill development and lasting friendships” said Deputy Fire Chief Kynan O’Rourke. “Fire services are steeped in tradition, and with this being our second year running this program, it has paved the way for both the department and the school to continue offering this unique educational opportunity to students and upcoming instructors in Lake Country. We are incredibly proud of our Fire Department members and the unwavering commitment they have to both the community and programs like this. Our spring break bootcamp will continue to grow, offering students a meaningful glimpse into the world of emergency services, challenging them, while equipping them with valuable skills that they can carry forward in their careers and life."
Deputy Chief O’Rourke extends a special thank you to the staff and Careers Department at GESS for their ongoing support and collaboration in making this program a success.
For more information contact:
Kynan O’Rourke, Deputy Fire Chief
Lake Country Fire Department
250-766-2327
