For the first time in at least a decade Roanoke City plans to hold a Fire-EMS Citizens Academy, which starts on January 6. Its free and open to City of Roanoke residents only ages 18 and up. Sign up now on the city government website, or on the Fire-EMS Facebook or Twitter pages.
The academy runs for 8 weeks, mostly on Monday nights (two sessions are on Tuesdays due to holidays) from 6-9pm. Topics include a Basic First Aid and CPR course that all Academy members will take, firefighting techniques, station tours and vehicle extrication demonstrations. At the conclusion of the eight-week course there’s a graduation ceremony as well.
Tiffany Bradbury, the Fire Prevention Specialist and communications point person for Roanoke Fire-EMS, isn’t sure when the last Citizen’s Academy was held but said it predates her eight years of working for the department. “We definitely wanted to engage our citizens and let them see what its like to be a firefighter for the 8 weeks.”
Bradbury said the training division of the department has been “working really hard,” to get the latest Citizens Academy off the ground. The academy will be offered at several different stations around the city, starting off with several programs at the new Station Number One at the corner of Elm and Franklin.
Other venues include a station in Northwest Roanoke where the fire safety trailer is located. Bradbury will help teach in her role as a fire prevention specialist. Part of the course takes place at a regional firefighting training center in Salem as well. “Its going to be really exciting… fast paced and fun,” Bradbury promises.
“Its just an awareness… it lets you know what these firefighters do, day in and day out. Getting your CPR certification also helps you in turn be a good neighbor,” noted Bradbury, who used to work for WSLS channel10 before she joined the city.
Bradbury doesn’t want graduates to think they can run in and help put out a fire should they run across one, but it will give them more of an awareness of the need to call 9-1-1 – and to stay out of the way. “It kind of gives them a little snapshot of what our firefighters do, day in and day out.”
It might even persuade people looking for a career change that Fire-EMS may be something worth pursuing. “This could be a great recruitment tool,” added Bradbury. “A lot of folks get apprehensive when they think of going in to a Fire-EMS career, they think there’s no way I could possibly do that. But it’s a rewarding career.”
It’s a “very secure career,” said Bradbury, “and a career that’s going to make you feel good. We’re helping our citizens to stay safe from fire and emergency medical [situations]. We’re usually there when someone is having the worst day of their life. That’s when we’re going to be there to try and help them put the pieces back together. [The Citizens Academy] is a great tool to see exactly what we do, to see if that’s something they would be interested in pursuing as a career.”
You can also call Bradbury for more information at 853-5785. “We think it’s going to be really exciting for our citizens and a lot of fun for our department to take part in this course,” said Bradbury; “we just hope that people will want to come out and see what its like to be a firefighter-EMT for a day.”
Week 1: Welcome/ History of Roanoke Fire-EMS/Overview of the Academy. Week 2: Station Tours & Specialty Apparatus. Week 3: Basic First Aid & CPR. Week 4: Basic First Aid & CPR (CPR certification will be received). Week 5: Fire Prevention/Public Education. Week 6: Firefighting. Week 7: Vehicle Extrication/Driving Simulator. Week 8: Graduation (Monday, February 24th 6pm-9pm at the Roanoke Valley Regional Fire-EMS Training Center).
By Gene Marrano
