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Penticton  

Teens tackle firefighting

Chelsea Powrie

For the second year running, the Penticton Fire Department is running a youth fire academy, attracting 10 teenagers from Penticton High and Princess Margaret Secondary Schools to spend their spring breaks training like real firefighters.

Friday was the culmination of five straight days of rigorous activity, during which the kids climbed 70-foot ladders, tore open cars with the Jaws of Life, learned all about the safety gear firefighters wear and, finally, interacted with real fire scenarios. 

"We did a vehicle fire, we did a compressed gas-cylinder fire, and we just came out of the burn building so they got to feel what it was like in a real building with real heat and real fire and smoke," explained firefighter and project coordinator Ryan Hvidston on Friday afternoon. 

The exercises all took place at the Penticton Fire Department training facility in town. The teens learned techniques to douse interior fires while inside a burning shipping container, coming out sweaty, exhausted but exhilarated. 

Sixteen-year-old Abigail Hylins is the program's only girl, which made her a little nervous at the start of the week. 

"Would I be like, an outcast?" Hylins said. "But honestly it's been a really good experience, it hasn't changed anything. It was amazing."

She said the training has been no picnic, with long hours and tough physical situations. 

"It's crazy to have all the gear on, and I've been trying to work on my fitness so I can carry all the gear and all that, but it's so heavy after a while and you just get really tired at the end of the day," Hylins said. 

The program gives kids a taste of firefighting at an age when they're thinking about future careers. Six graduates from last year's program are now on track to become auxiliary members of the Penticton fire crew. 

Hylins, whose two brothers are firefighters, is keeping her options open. 

"I think I'm going to continue looking into it, I'm also looking into the police force," Hylins said. "I'm still kind of iffy about it at the moment, it's hard work!"

Her fellow youth  academy member, 17-year-old Kieran Simpson, also has family ties to firefighting, and jumped at the chance to spend his spring break learning more. 

"I was keen, I was excited, got some buddies to come do it," Simpson said. "I'm happy doing it, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else right now." 

Hvidston said he wouldn't be surprised if some of the kids he has been training this week end up pursuing the career after they graduate. 

"I think it gives the students who may be thinking about this as a career to see really what it's about and maybe make that decision," Hvidston said. "And I know some of them have really enjoyed the week so far."

The teens' training will continue in the coming weeks during ride-alongs on actual fire calls with members of the department. 



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