ALAMOSA — There have always been kids who wanted to be a “fireman,” at some point in their lives, and Aiden Clark was no different. Clark, who just graduated from the eighth grade at Ortega Middle School, has always wanted to be a firefighter. But, for a lot of students at Ortega Middle School and other schools where students may come from homes with economic challenges, learning what’s involved in being a firefighter while still at a young age is pretty much out of reach.
That’s where the Explorer Program comes in, a 75-hour training program that exposes kids ages 14 to 18 to what it’s like to be a firefighter. This week, Alamosa Fire Chief Bill Stone gave the Rotary Club an overview of the program as it concludes its first year. He opened by introducing Aiden, a recent graduate from the group of eight who participated.
“I love the program,” Aiden said. “I love everything you learn. I’ve always wanted to do it. I grew up watching my uncle do it every year in Pueblo. He’s an engineer [with a fire department], and I saw how it works. And when Adam (Lopez) went to my dad and said they were going to do the program, I was excited. I’ve been waiting for a long time to be in the program and I finally got to do it.”
Stone then provided a little background.
“My wife teaches at Ortega Middle School, and she said that she sees so many kids who have no hope. Economically, a lot of the kids are at a major disadvantage, have no support at home and they just need…something. A lot of people were trying to think of what could be done to support our youth, so, the wheels were already turning.”
Stone saw the Explorer Program as an immediate fit for those teenagers – boys and girls – who need something to look forward to in life that would also hold such interest that the experience could possibly prevent them from getting into bad habits.
“I’ve been a part of fire departments where they had Explorer Programs, but those were affluent areas. It seemed like it could make an even greater impact to initiate something like that here.”
So, I spoke with some of our fire guys. I spoke with (Alamosa City Manager) Heather Sanchez and a lot of different people.”
Stone admits that “there was pushback, as always happens with new programs.” But he kept at it. “I saw the bigger picture as being more important than the pushback. I told them this is bigger than you or me or all of us, and, eventually, this is going to come back around and affect us all in a positive way.”
As is also true with any new program, funding was needed to get it off the ground. Stone singles out two people who were invaluable.
Adam Lopez, an engineer with the Alamosa Fire Department, works with the Boys and Girls Clubs of the San Luis Valley and was able to obtain grant funding to make the program a reality. Reyna Martinez, who works with RETAC [Regional Emergency Medical and Trauma Services Advisory Council] , garnered even more support for the effort. And Stone “rearranged some things” in his budget to make it work.
“We just wanted to get the program rolling and expose [the students] to what it could be like. We invited them to weekend duties and various trainings. They went through CPR, and we got many of them red cards, a qualification needed to fight wildland fires. “
To be successful, the program also had to be led by the right person. Chief Stone does not hold back in praising AFD Engineer Adam Lopez for organizing the program and heading up much of the training.
“Adam Lopez did an incredible job in training this first class of explorers,” Stone said.
At the end of the program, some of the 18-year-old students wanted to pursue a career in firefighting or volunteer at a fire department. One student is going to Leadville Junior College to pursue an Associates in Fire Science. Others just wanted to test it out and see if it was right for them.
But even those students gained from the experience. “Those students said, ‘I may not want to do this, but I learned a lot about teamwork and physical fitness. I got a lot of positive out of this and I spent my time in a positive way.’ That’s what we wanted to accomplish.”
Aiden is the youngest in the group at 14 years old. Stone said they weren’t certain about reaching out to students still in middle school. But he’s such a “stand-out kid”, they now know that they can reach out to students who are that young and still have it be a successful experience.
Some of the other training they were exposed to was automobile extrication. “They went through the same training all of basic firefighters go through, so they got to learn how to utilize the jaws of life and all the cutting tools.”
Stone also brought in firefighters from Milwaukee, Wis., and South Carolina that he had known for years who provided training on ladder work, hose, forceful entry. “That was a very taxing weekend. They worked their butts off, but they got a lot out of it.”
When asked about his favorite part, Aiden said “the rescue part.” He’s also more interested in structure fires than wildland fires.
“It’s been a lot of fun. They learned a lot from us, but we learned a lot from them, too,” Stone said. He also added that the students put in 75 hours of training and, in exchange, received a $700 stipend.
