The Elysburg Fire Department sponsored the fourth annual Fire Cadet Weekend with great success. The program consists of a weekend filled with all aspects of emergency response for the youth who attend.
This year's event included a safety message given by Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann and an address on fire investigation by Pennsylvania State Police Kirk Renn.
Cadets were then broken into work groups and participated in rotating stations including search and rescue, vehicle stabilization, ropes and rigging, fire extinguisher training, CPR, hose advancement and teamwork. Other demonstrations included a drug dog demonstration by Sgt. Lahr of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, police demonstrations, a hazmat demonstration by the County of Northumberland, Geisinger Life Flight and a special seminar about careers in police work, EMS, dispatch and forestry by DCNR.
Elysburg Assistant Chief Harvey Boyer heads the program and explained that 20 agencies and over 45 volunteer instructors and support staff came together.
“Cadets are now coming from great distance to participate," Boyer said. "We know now that this programs started just four years ago and is great to support to help boost our volunteer numbers now and for the future”.
There are constant reports coming back into the program about past cadets following some sort of path due to the experiences at this special weekend. One story this year is due to the experience one particular cadet had with this program and the PA State Police Camp Cadet, she is now enrolled to go into a branch of service for our country right after graduation.
Elysburg Fire Department is quick to acknowledge if it wasn’t for support from the local businesses and all the volunteers who come together for the kids, the program could not exist. Much preparation goes into before and after the program, but the two days during the event are very busy.
Each cadet graduated the program during a special graduation ceremony held on Sunday to close the busy weekend. They also received a special video, DVD movie of the experience, and personalized photos.
To date, 107 youth have passed through the program. It is reported that over one-third of them are now active in local departments.
