Junior firefighters can handle it all

For some Plains High School students, community service through the Plains/Paradise Rural Fire District is an exciting way to gain experience while serving the town they grew up in.

For some Plains High School students, community service through the Plains/Paradise Rural Fire District is an exciting way to gain experience while serving the town they grew up in.

Except for a few jobs reserved for firefighters over the age of 18, the junior firefighters are trained and prepared to take on the majority of tasks a regular firefighter may perform while fighting structural and wild land fires within Plains' city limits.

"They can do everything that we do, they can run the actual pumps, they can't drive to the fire because they have to be trained as a regular fireman to do that, but they can do traffic control, radio work, run the pumps on structure fires, they just can't go into burning buildings," said Carl Benson, junior firefighter trainer and firefighter for the Plains/Paradise Rural Fire District. "When we do our training they train like a regular firefighter."

The junior firefighter program was started back in 2004 by none other than a Plains High School senior, Mandy Brown, who took it upon herself to launch the program as part of her senior project. Brown researched other fire departments with junior programs in other rural areas such as Libby and Frenchtown. Once the research was compiled and the school was on board in agreeing to approve their students should they maintain a certain grade point average in order to be a part of the program, the rural district successfully launched the program.

The hours the students log while training for the program and fighting fires also go towards the Jobs for Montana Graduates course offered at the school, which requires a certain number of hours of community service.

Benson said to be a junior firefighter, the kids have to dedicate a fair amount of time to training. They are required to take an online class and pass to first get their certificate. Following that they have to go through training courses twice a month and work from beginning to intermediate fire training. The current eight junior fire fighters signed on for this fire season are almost finished with the final leg of training.

The junior firefighters are not only an asset to the community they serve, but to the firefighters themselves.

"It's not something they get to do, they have to work for it and they really take it seriously and it's a lot of fun working with them and it breathes new life into the fire department because a lot of our members are getting older and when we get some of these youngsters moving through, it brings some life into it," said Benson.

Benson said being a part of the junior firefighters also offers experience and a leg up for other applicants looking to get a job as a paid firefighter, working with the Forest Service or the DNRC once the kids turn 18.

"I'll work for the DNRC or a private engine this summer and hopefully get an upper hand over the other people trying to get jobs too," said junior firefighter Mike Holland.

The junior firefighters have already had to put their training in action this spring fighting a structural fire on upper Lynch Creek and a mild wild land fire.

Benson does not see the junior firefighter program going away anytime soon and welcomes any and all kids ages 16 to 18 to train if they are interested in getting involved with the program.

Comments or questions can be directed to Danielle Switalski by calling her at 826-3402.