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BY HILLARY VIDERS
SPECIAL TO NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
Englewood Fire Department’s (EFD) Junior Fire Academy got off to a roaring start on July 16.
Thirteen Englewood residents aged 9 to 14 came to the Englewood fire station for the opportunity to learn about the lifesaving skills and equipment that the department’s firefighters use to protect the community.
An EFD Summer Camp was started in 2002 by Fire Inspector Rocco Carbone, who has been with the Englewood Fire Department for 21 years.
“The program is important because many people do not know enough about fire prevention and the correct response,” said Carbone. “What we teach these young people can save lives.”
The EFD Summer Camp was discontinued in 2010, but this year, the program came back bigger and better than ever. The summer program for middle school students, now referred to as the Englewood Fire Department Junior Academy, offered five days of intensive training and fascinating experiences.
A major component of the Junior Fire Academy was teamwork. For many of the activities, the cadets were divided into four platoons, each of which was led by an EFD firefighter. They competed in a variety of mentally and physically challenging exercises, such as tug of war, an obstacle course and response time races.
Throughout the week, the cadets were supervised by EFD firefighters as well as supplementary staff, all of whom volunteered their time.
In addition to Program Director, Firefighter Shawn Brown, full time instructors were Firefighters Nick Rodriguez, Peter Lee and Jason Bertero. Assisting various activities were Capt. Jeff Kaplan, Firefighters Richard Motta, Josue Asencio, Christopher Saraceno, Themi Mintzas and Fire Inspector Rocco Carbone.
Firefighter Asencio’s teenage daughters, Bianca and Jennifer, served as assistant counselors. Kaplan and Mintzas organized the program, and it was full of activities every weekday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
All of the cadets wore bright red T-shirts with the EFD’s logo that had been made and donated by Brown’s wife, Yvette, and they had red EFD logo backpacks.
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On Monday, the cadets, nine boys and four girls, were welcomed by EFD Chief Erik Enersen. They were then given an overview of the department’s apparatus, including protective equipment, tools and air packs, and Carbone explained official fire codes. The group also learned how to tie knots, drag a body (using dummies), how to handle fire extinguishers and many more skills.
The youngsters then explored ladder trucks and rescue trucks, and they learned about swift water rescue and how firemen extricate people trapped in cars.
“The kids are so much fun and so enthusiastic,” said Rodriguez. “They really want to be here, and that makes us want to be here.”
On Tuesday morning, EMTs from the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center Ambulance Corps showed the cadets a video and supervised them performing CPR, rescue breathing (with and without a mask) and the use of a defibrillator on mannequins. After several tries, 10-year-old Simone Finn and Lauren Watson proudly shouted out, “We saved the patient!”
The group then went to Dr. John Greico Elementary School on Durie Avenue, where a New Jersey State AW-139 helicopter landed. A group of pilots showed the cadets how the enormous $12 million, 14,200-pound craft performs its missions.
“It can fly up to 20,000 feet high,” Sam Mahle explained, “but our missions typically are flown at 2,500 feet, and at a maximum speed of 150 mph.”
The helicopter can hold 15 people, but for Medevac missions, it typically has two pilots, a flight nurse, one or two patients and a full spectrum of medical equipment.
“We do about 400 missions a year,” said Mahle, who then answered the children’s questions.
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Fire prevention in the home was the theme on Wednesday morning, as the cadets explored the “Safety House” next to the fire station. Inside the simulated house, Carbone showed a dramatic video by Dr. Frank Field that explained key facts and real life stories about fires.
“In a house fire you do not see bright flames; everything is totally black because of the thick smoke, and all you hear are crackling, hissing sounds,” said Carbone. “It is so dark, that you cannot even see your hand in front of you. Therefore, to find children, firefighters have to crawl on the floor from room to room.”
Carbone used the model kitchen to demonstrate cooking safety, best practices for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and common emergency responses. If your house is ever on fire, always “stay low and go,” he repeated.
Carbone explained that each room in a home should have two places where you can get out, and cadets drew sketches of their own homes.
The cadets also took two field trips. On Thursday, they visited the Fire Department of New York Museum on Spring Street, where they saw a video about firefighting history. From there, they went to the 9/11 Memorial, where they viewed pieces of debris from the Twin Towers and saw photos and the names of everyone who died in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, inscribed on bronze parapets surrounding the twin Memorial pools.
On Friday morning, the group took a bus to the Bergen County Police and Fire Academy in Mahwah, where they expanded their knowledge of firefighting even further.
Bus transportation throughout the week was paid for by the City of Englewood, and Maria Hill from the fire department arranged for breakfasts and lunches to be donated by local restaurants, such as IHOP, Chick-Fil-A, Balthazar, Vittorio’s, Blue Moon and Manhattan Bagels. For Friday’s lunch, firefighters grilled up delicious franks and burgers donated by ShopRite.
The much anticipated academy graduation took place on Friday afternoon at the fire house, where each cadet received a certificate from Brown and Chief Enersen. Honored guests, state Assemblyman Gordon Johnson and Councilman Charles Cobb, looked on with admiration for the staff as well as the graduates.
After the extensive week of learning, training and team work, the 13 young cadets came away with a truck load of knowledge and respect for the brave firefighters of Englewood.
Photos by Hillary Viders
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