Crafton Hills College - Academy 70

Nick is on the home stretch in the Fire Academy at Crafton Hills. These last couple weeks have been filled with fun yet insane training activities that most us civilians cringe just thinking about. While we are thankful for all the cadets that go through the Fire Academy and become firefighters, having a spouse training for the life rescuing scenarios can cause a little anxiety. Here is a few of the training exercises they have been doing. The picture shown above is from the Confined Space exercise. They had to go through this pipe in their full turnouts, including Breathing Apparatus'. No room for claustrophobia here!




Auto Extraction - Thats right. They train on how to use the jaws of life...How to tear apart a car while keeping the patient in tact!













Repelling - Scaling down sides of buildings. Every boy (and some girls) always dream about being Spiderman. Talk about a dream come true for these cadets!!









Auditorium Raise - This is definitely not a training exercise for those with a fear of heights! Four cadets at the base of the ladder, and four more on safety lines at each 90 degree angle is all that holds this ladder up. One at a time each cadet climbs to the top, secures their leg, and lets go. This takes bravery to a whole new level!







Hose Recovery - A cut off fire hose has 350 PSI at the end. We have hundreds of pictures that show these grown men and women getting tossed around the parking lot by this massive charged hose. Here a few of my favorite.







In just a few weeks these cadets will have graduated the 70th Fire Academy at Crafton Hills Community College. With new, lifelong friends these 30 men and women are launched into our world... Ready to become our Heros.

Crafton Hills Fire Academy

Nick is currently enrolled in the Fire Academy at Crafton Hills. Crafton Hills is a Junior College/Trade School that has a prestigious Fire Science program. The finally of the Fire Science program is their Fire Academy. Once you have completed the fire academy, and your hours with a fire department, you will receive your "Firefighter I" Certificate. Even though the training is rigorous, the PT can be trecherous and the lectures hours long, the Crafton Hills Fire Academy has continuously attracted enough participants to need a selection process!! Between pitch black obstacle courses; hose and ladder evolutions, races between squads, and lint-picking inspections (literally) the camaraderie and brotherhood established will last a lifetime. This spring academy is Academy 70. The band of brothers that make up Academy 70 are the most fun cadets...Nick is having a blast! See if you can spot him in any of the pictures.