Staffing is an issue for many fire departments, especially volunteer departments. It’s no different for Tallassee.
Like many volunteer departments, age is becoming an issue of its responders and there is a low participation among younger people in the fire service. To help address the issue, the Tallassee Fire Department is seeking a co-op program with Tallassee City Schools to build interest in volunteer firefighting. Deputy Tallassee fire chief David Rogers officially presented the idea at a recent Tallassee City Schools board meeting.
“We have been working on this for the last 12 years to build and bridge the gap between the fire service and Tallassee High School,” Rogers said.
If started, the program would be one of only three in the state and it does not cost the school system a teaching unit. Rogers has worked to create a curriculum over the last decade.
“This plan has been vetted through the Alabama Fire College,” Rogers said.
Through career tech education, the Alabama Department of Education currently has a program but it requires a teaching unit. Rogers presented a model that serves the same purpose with little cost to the school system.
“Our program is a collaborative effort between students, parents, the school and the fire department to create a co-op fire science program based on the curriculum of the Alabama Fire college and approved by the state department of education,” Rogers said. “This program will be a work study based program that will provide a career pathway for students to enter the fire and EMS related fields.”
Elmore County Schools has a public safety program with fire and police at its Elmore County Technical Center, which uses a certified teaching unit to teach the class.
Under the Tallassee program, students would report to the fire department to work under Rogers and other firefighters.
“It's a combination of work and study,” Rogers said. “We'll get them through the curriculum to become certified as volunteer firefighters and firefighter two, as well as EMT basic.”
Rogers and the Tallassee Fire Department are gauging interest now to be able to work with Tallassee High School on scheduling for the students. There would be an orientation in the summer with the program officially kicking off at the start of school in August.
The program would be open to only juniors and seniors with at least a 2.0 GPA. There is a possibility it could be open to homeschooled students.
