Training starts early for junior firefighters
By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
If the firefighter in the blue helmet at a fire scene in Elizabeth looks a bit young, your eyes aren’t deceiving you.
Blue helmets designate junior firefighters, and those volunteers could be as young as 14.
Elizabeth borough fire Chief Chad Rager said the department covers the cost of training junior firefighters as an investment in the future of the community, as several departments in the area do. Lincoln Boro Volunteer Fire Department also offers a program, according to Chief Anthony Perozich.
Junior firefighters are expected to begin their formal firefighter training, taking the 16-hour introduction to firefighting course, a four-hour hazardous materials course, a four-hour cancer awareness course, a 32-hour course on providing ground support such as pulling hose, and a 52-hour course on exterior fire fighting. As junior firefighters, they are not permitted to go inside a burning structure.
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