SUMMIT STATION — The young, aspiring firefighters did not mind getting soaked Friday as they competed in a hose-and-barrel competition to close the three-day Junior Fire Camp at the Summit Station Fire Company.
The third annual camp was held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday for children ages 9 to 15.
“We originally started it to get the kids active in the fire companies,” Bryan Dronick, fire company captain, said. “Volunteer staffing is in high demand.”
The number of children attending the camp has grown every year. In the first year, there were 14. The following year there were 28 and this year there were 39.
“We actually train them like a real firefighter,” Dronick said.
Some of the things the children learned this week included how to use the various fire equipment, search in a smoke-filled room, turn off a sprinkler system and perform basic first aid. There was also a vehicle extraction demonstration and a visit from the Geisinger’s Life Flight 5.
The camp was open to children everywhere. The $50 fee was used to recoup costs for T-shirts, water bottles and lunch for the campers.
“It’s so hard to get volunteers and so we are trying to get the kids interested at a young age,” Summit Station Fire Chief Brad Zimmerman said. “If it helps any fire company out there, we have done our job.”
The Summit Station Fire Company has about 20 active members and accepts junior firefighters at the age of 14. Zimmerman said that although the role of a junior firefighter is limited, they can ride on the truck and go on calls.
One of the teenagers attending the camp last year recently joined the fire company as a junior firefighter.
“I was always interested in firefighting, and then I came to the camp and saw everything that went with it,” Conner Lerch,16, of Newmanstown, said. “I really enjoy doing it and meeting everyone. It is like having an extended family.”
Lerch came back to the camp this year to help the firefighters train the children.
“There is a lot of learning involved, but some of them might make good firefighters,” Lerch said.
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