May 15, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
A group of people from the community including a few county commissioners have been participating in a free six weeks course to get first-hand knowledge and experience of what it’s like to be a county volunteer firefighter and to learn more about how the department and supporting agencies operate.
The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department’s Citizens’ Spring Fire Academy began April 16 and will end with a graduation ceremony for the participants on May 21. The 2 hour classes meet each Tuesday night at the department’s Main Station on King Ridge Road.
(Video below shows DeKalb Fire Chief Donny Green with Citizens Fire Academy participant Ethan Judkins who is using jaws of life cutter tool to cut through A-Post as part of the process in removing a car top. A procedure that would be exercised at a real world crash scene to gain access to a victim)
(Video below shows DeKalb Citizens Fire Academy participant Mike Corley in county firefighter turnout gear using extrication saw to cut through B-post as part of the process in removing a car top)
IMG_6257 from dwayne page on Vimeo.
(Video below shows DeKalb Citizens Fire Academy participants Jacob Parsley on the left side of the SUV and Charlie Caplinger on the right side using a jaws of life cutter and saw to remove the top)
IMG_6287 from dwayne page on Vimeo.
“This is our 10th academy. When we started several years ago we had two per year but now they are annually. The purpose of this academy is to provide a behind-the-scenes look, from a citizens’ perspective, at the organizational structure, administration, operation, and response capabilities of the DeKalb County Fire Department and supporting agencies, such as the 911 Dispatch Center, law enforcement/investigations, emergency medical services, and fire prevention and safety agencies,” said DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green.
(Video below shows DeKalb Citizens Fire Academy participant and County Commissioner Beth Pafford using a jaws of life saw to remove the top of an SUV)
IMG_6302 from dwayne page on Vimeo.
Participants may observe or actually get some hands-on experience by dressing up in firefighter turnout gear and operating department equipment including the jaws of life extrication tools under the supervision of the county firefighters.
“We are not trying to train people to be firefighters. This is more of an educational type venture and while participants have the opportunity to cut up a car using the jaws of life and use a fire hose to spray some water it’s not a physically demanding program,” said Chief Green
Although the course is not intended to recruit future volunteer firefighters the department has picked up a few over the years because of the academy. “We have had people go through the program and their level of interest was high enough that they did later apply and become accepted as a member of the county fire department,” added Chief Green.
Members of the current academy are Circuit Court Clerk Susan Martin, Ethan Judkins, Melanie Judkins, Greg Judkins, Mike Corley, Phillip Coats, Dana Scott, Jacob Parsley, Charles and Rhonda Caplinger, and County Commissioners Julie Young, Jenny Trapp, and Beth Pafford.