Joliet Fire Department academy inspires youth to fire service

Joliet West High School student Camdyn Kranz never considered a career in firefighting until the past fall.

Kranz and 18 other students participated in the first Joliet Fire Department Citizen Fire Academy since 2008. Now, Kranz is saying, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

“Going into fires and being able to help people out is something I really enjoy,” Kranz said. “It’s like a dream job.”

Dan Markun, Joliet West’s health & medicine and human services academy coordinator, said he helped find interested students once he knew Matt Baxter, battalion chief at the Joliet Fire Department. wanted to hold the academy. Most of the academy students, but not all, were current Joliet West students.

“That’s what we do here. We provide opportunities,” Markun said. “We want students to be involved. We want them to be hands-on in the community doing things, especially after COVID. They need to be in the community. They need to be involved … so anytime an opportunity like this presents itself, we have to take advantage of it.”

Part of the Joliet Fire Department’s Citizen Fire Academy was held in the fire department’s training room. More than 25 firefighters, with experience ranging from four to 28 years, helped with instruction, Baxter said.

Insight into firefighting duties

The 10-week program included a tour of the station and the communication center. Students were fitted with masks and gear.

Topics the academy covered included ventilation, fire behavior, general fire operations, emergency medical services, tactics and strategies, incident command, hose and hydrants, ladder operations, community risk reduction, fire inspections, general fire safety, public safety, smoke and carbon dioxide detectors.

“You don’t go to work sit around drink coffee all day. We’re out helping people and seeing a lot of terrible things.”

—  Matt Baxter, battalion chief at the Joliet Fire Department

All participants in the fire academy also were certified in the American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED program for adults, children and infants, Markun said.

Baxter said each student arrived on time – or earlier – for each class.

“They were excited, they asked a ton of questions, and they were really engaged,” Baxter said.

Providing hands-on experiences

Students also learned about special teams (arson, dive, hazmat and special operations), how to put on and operate self-contained breathing apparatus, search and rescue, extrication, and how to choose fire extinguishers.

They cut apart donated cars with the Jaws of Life, Baxter said, which is equipment that cuts through metal. They operated donated fire extinguishers, he said. They learned how to bandage and put on splits and tourniquets, he said.

“They climbed our main fire ladder,” Baxter said. “They pulled those lines of the fire trucks and got to spray water.”

The students also participated in a live fire exercise at the Plainfield Fire Department burn towner, Baxter said. They saw flames go up the walls and watched the smoke.

Joliet West student Danny Markun, 16, said he attended the program with his father, Dan. He enjoyed participating in “a lot of cool stuff” in a controlled setting, such as watching a building burn.

Danny Markun said he’s not claustrophobic. But he did get scared when he put the oxygen mask on.

“The fact they do that for a job every day, I find that kind of inspiring,” Danny Markun said.

Students also performed a search and rescue with a blacked-out mask to find “makeshift victims,” Baxter said.

“They crawled around like we would in a fire,” Baxter said.

The curriculum was hands-on as much as possible.

“Especially at that age, they’re not interested in sitting in a class after being in school all day,” Baxter said. “They don’t want to sit in a classroom and watch PowerPoints and slides.”

Besides, most firefighting is a hands-on, Baxter said. Firefighters can’t be afraid to get dirty, he said. They need to get used to seeing injuries and blood, he said. They must tune out everything except helping those who need help, he said.

“You don’t go to work sit around drink coffee all day,” Baxter said. “We’re out helping people and seeing a lot of terrible things.”

Joliet West student Jeremiah Shell, 16, said the academy was, at times, “a little intense” but that was part of experiencing firefighting. He said the program challenged him mentally, which was fine with him.

“I like to challenge myself,” Shell said.

A graduation program was held on the 11th and final week. Every student completed the program and graduated.

Baxter said the Citizen Fire Academy began in the 1990s – he was hired in 1996 – and then went dormant in 2008. Baxter said he tried to restart the program shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

More than 15 firefighters currently with the Joliet Fire Department had previously participated in a fire academy, he said. Since completing the academy, “a handful” of the students took the eligibility test for the Joliet Fire Department, although they received no “extra points” or preference for attending the citizen’s academy, Baxter said.

Baxter hopes to host another academy in the fall.

“It’s important for our youth of Joliet to see what we do and, hopefully, want to be a part of it,” Baxter said. “We’re not going to be here forever.”