Edmonton fire cadet program through school offers teens valuable life lessons
Teens in the Edmonton area are getting a first-hand look at what it takes to be a firefighter.
The Edmonton Fire Cadets program is held weekly and takes students aged 14 to 18 through the steps to learn how to do the job.
The work experience program uses both classroom and hands-on learning and is offered through area school boards.
"I've learned the real demands of being a firefighter, how hard and fun and exciting it is," fire cadet Haylee Ward, a student at Edmonton's St. Joseph Catholic High School, told CTV News Edmonton.
Students can earn up to six credits over the course of the school year.
The application deadline to apply for next year's cadet program is the end of April and can be competitive.
"It is pretty physically tough, but if you have the determination and the will to do it, you can do it," the 17-year-old Ward said.
Chris Turner, the Edmonton Fire Rescue Services cadet coordinator, told CTV News Edmonton his top suggestion for anyone applying for the program is to provide "a good story of who you are."
"You only have one chance to make a good first impression and that application’s going to your first impression," he said.
For 17-year-old fire cadet Cole Gist, who attends Sherwood Park's Salisbury Composite High, helping people is what makes firefighting appealing, even taking priority over an opportunity to play football in the United States.
"Firefighting is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I know that if I aspire to do that and get my courses ... that’s my goal," he said.
Not every cadet will go on to become a career firefighter, but they will leave it with skills that last a lifetime.
"(I've learned) not only about firefighting and safety but about myself through doing things that will be very useful in life," Ward said, something Gist echoed as well.
"It’s definitely a life changing experience for me," Gist said. "It’s taught me a lot of valuable life lessons. It’s taught me how to be mature."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Sean Amato
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Appeal denied for Edmonton soldier accused of trying to kill her 3 children
An Edmonton woman found guilty of trying to kill her three children has been denied an appeal.