MEXICO, Maine -- Jonathan Longley is grateful for many things. He can follow both his passions of teaching and fighting fires when he begins teaching the fire-science classes at Region 9 School of Applied Technology on Tuesday.
"Now I can do both," he said. "Something miraculous happened to me."
He's getting a second chance at life.
Longley, 43, has been fighting off stage 4 cancer since he was diagnosed in 2009. He's in remission and feels good, he said.
"Apparently, I have not completed what I was meant to do," the father of two teenagers said Thursday afternoon from his classroom.
Longley has had long careers in both his passions, including 22 years in teaching, the most recent as an alternative education teacher at Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield, and 26 years as a firefighter, most on the Paris Fire Department.
He has also taught at the former Peru Elementary School and in Mechanic Falls.
One of his duties as deputy chief of Paris Fire Department is training firefighters. Now, he'll be teaching future firefighters.
This is the second year of the fire-science program at Region 9. Seven students have signed up so far for Firefighting I and five for Firefighting II.
"The program is up and going and there is room for more students," he said.
Longley's many contacts with his firefighting experience will allow guest instructors for such classes as CPR, first aid, and knot tying.
Three area fire departments will bring their extrication tools so students can see how they're used to free accident victims.
New this year, besides Longley's excitement about getting back into the classroom, are plans to build a burn simulator. His fire science students will design it, and instructor Pete Barlow's metal trades class will build it.
The 40- by 8-foot simulator will provide a safer structure than using a real building for training.
"There are many safety features," he said.
Area fire departments, which are supporters of the fire science program at Region 9, will also train at the same time as students.
One of the local fire departments plans to donate a four-man firetruck outfitted with most equipment needed to fight a fire.
"This will give students a real-life experience," Longley said.
He hopes to turn out some productive members for their local fire services.
"In the long-term, hopefully this group will become the leaders of the future," he said.
Copyright 2012 - Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
