Program at Hunter Huss High School prepares students for career in firefighting
Every afternoon, while students
in other classrooms are sitting in
desks with pencils and notebooks,
a group of students at Hunter
Huss High School are suiting up in
firefighting gear and heading outside
to pick up axes and chainsaws and
practice fire survival skills.
This is the Hunter Huss
Firefighter Academy, now in its
third year at the high school, where
young men and women get hands-on
experience and professional credit as
they learn what it takes to become a
firefighter.
This includes training like the
“attic drill” where students put on
an oxygen tank and mask and crawl
blindfolded through a prop simulating
an attic crawl space complete with
wires that hang down and catch on
buckles and gear handles.
“The first thing they have to
know is the job is dangerous and
this can happen to you,” said chief
Jerry Swift, program teacher, who
has been in the fire service for 36
years. “Quite frequently, you get in
situations like this. Inside of a fire
you’re not going to be able to see,
and they’re going to start panicking.
We put these props together to give
them this experience in a controlled
environment before it happens in a
serious environment.”
Swift has designed the classes
to not just teach students about
firefighting, but to let them
experience what the day-to-day
work is like. Tuesdays and Thursdays
are physical fitness days with
weightlifting, running and other drills
done in full turnout gear. Fridays are cleaning days. Students clean
the classroom top to bottom just as professional firefighters would
maintain and keep a fire station clean.
Other survival skill training includes a prop that simulates a
collapsing floor. And daily classwork includes topics such as the
math involved in setting the flow rate for different types of hoses -firefighters have to calculate for friction loss and the size of the nozzle
to maximize water pressure. Another
course lesson focuses on construction
and how different types of buildings
might respond to -- or collapse -- in a
fire.
If students complete all three
levels of the program, they can
graduate from Hunter Huss with 20
out of 22 courses toward professional
certification from the Office of the
State Fire Marshal.
“This is a great program, a great
opportunity,” said Swift, who has
also taught firefighter certification
courses at Gaston College for 22
years. “The same things we teach at
Gaston College, we’re teaching in this
classroom.”
The classes are part of Gaston
County Schools’ Career and Technical
Education (CTE) Department, and the
program is sponsored by the Gastonia
Fire Department.
“They want individuals out of this
high school to work there,” Swift said.
His goal is to make that happen.
Dale Guffey, an eleventh grader,
said he wants to start his career as a
volunteer firefighter then transition to
a paid job with a bigger department.
The courses at Hunter Huss “can teach
you a lot about leadership, and give
you a hands-on experience of what
it’s like to be a fireman, what they
go through in training, and what to
expect,” he said.
Robert Payne, a senior, said the fire
tech classes are his favorites. He hopes
to try a career in firefighting: “It’s not
a desk job. It takes a little more guts
to want to do it.”
Hunter Huss principal Torben Ross
said the Firefighter Academy has been a great addition to the school.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students,” he said. “It has been
great seeing this class evolve.”
Swift said he appreciates the opportunity to share his knowledge
with students each day: “Even if they don’t go into the fire service,
they may save somebody’s life out in the street just by the things
they’ve learned in this classroom.”
About the Gastonia Fire Department:
The Gastonia Fire Department is a highly trained municipality fire department that is proud to serve the
approximate 73,209 citizens of Gastonia, North Carolina. The departments mission is to “Save lives and property,
and to proudly serve the citizens and visitors of the City of Gastonia.” This is accomplished through training,
dedication, and a commitment to service.
The department employs 141 full time personnel, covers 50.73 square miles, and consists of 8 fire stations
located throughout the city limits of Gastonia.
Parent Teacher News• March/April 2016• 3