ROSEVILLE — Kids are learning firsthand what it’s like to be a Roseville firefighter at the Roseville Fire Kids Camp.
“I really thought it was an easy job but it’s really not,” said Grace Meyer, a fire camp trainee.
Local firefighters volunteered a week of their time to put 40 students through some of the same exercises they did during their training.
“Fire extinguisher training, going into our burn room. We do vehicle extrication with them,” said the coordinator for the Roseville Fire Kids Camp, Joe Lapenna.
The kids go through a real-life fire academy, even getting the opportunity to put out a live fire. The kids also walk away with skills they can use in the event of an emergency, like first aid and CPR training.
But the trainees also get to experience some of the fun aspects of the job too, like rappelling down the side of a six-story building.
“I felt like I was going to fall,” Meyer told FOX40.
They even learn what it takes to keep the firehouse in tip-top shape.
“They have to do everything from chores. So we make them clean up after themselves at the end of the day and they learn how to mop and clean a toilet,” Lapenna said.
It’s all part of better understanding what it’s like to be a first responder.
“We want to show the kids what we do and we want succession planning,” Lapenna said. “I mean, these are our future firefighters right here.”
In a couple of years, you just might see some of the kids staffing your local firehouse.
“I just want to be there for people and just help them,” said Ryan Kelly, who is participating in his second year at the fire camp.
“I want to just save people and I want to know that I’m doing something good,” Meyer said.
The Roseville Fire Department puts on the camp every summer. This year they got about 100 applications but they were only able to accept 40 students.
