New Class Introduces Warren MA High-Schoolers to Becoming Firefighters

WARREN, MA—Outside Quaboag Regional Middle High School there are sometimes fire trucks flanked by students in full firefighter gear, attaching hoses to a hydrant.

Other days the pupils are poring over a 2-inch-thick textbook—the same one used at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow—to learn the ins and outs of firefighting.

The program is new this year at the high school and is part of a partnership with the community, Superintendent Brett Kustigian explained Thursday after a visit from state legislators who had helped secure $10,000 in funding for the course.

"(Fire) Chief (Adam) Lavoie has talked about how difficult it is to find firefighters," Kustigian said, adding that the five-days-a-week, yearlong program will help train potential firefighters and offer students the chance to see if a career in the fire service might be for them.

Even if they don't become firefighters, students can be equipped with lifesaving skills including CPR and first responder certifications.

Kustigian and Quaboag Principal Stephen Duff are excited about the program. Duff said he always wanted to be a firefighter sees the program as one more option for Quaboag students to explore.

The school is rich with technology, science and arts taught by a team of enthusiastic teachers, Kustigian said, counting among them Warren Fire Lt. Paul Russell, who is the lead teacher for the firefighting course.

Russell said he loves teaching and is enjoying this opportunity. Russell essentially grew up at a fire station. His dad served as a call fire lieutenant in Ware for many years.

Russell did he's hoping to pass along what he's learned and his love of the job. Initially, he said, the students seemed to feel the class would be mostly fun, but when tasked with the serious business of saving lives, they've had to realize that the classroom work is as important as learning to use the equipment.

"You've got to do the class work before you go out and have fun," he said, adding that so much of the job can be dangerous, proper training is essential.

The students in the program were all outfitted with turnout gear, including coats, bunker pants and helmets. Air packs and other items were donated, and there are thousands of dollars of materials specific to emergency medical training, as well.

Their classroom is set up as a fire station, with lockers for their gear, and there might be some training in how to quickly suit up.

The students don't deal with actual fire but they will take part in simulations to get the feel of what it's like to be searching through a burning building.

They also use custom mannequins to learn CPR and other medical skills.

Kustigian and Duff said school has sent a large number of students on to careers in the medical field, and the emergency medical services component of the program is of great interest to some students.

Later, school officials are hoping students can visit the firefighting academy in Stow, observe at the burn house in North Brookfield and use virtual reality training to hone their skills.

Those who want to become certified EMTs in Massachusetts may be eligible for a $1,200 scholarship that would allow them to complete the training needed through a community college, Kustigian said.

The legislators, Sen. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Warren, and Rep. Donald R. Berthiaume Jr., R-Spencer, also secured $20,000 for a certified nursing assistant program that will begin at Quaboag in September 2020.

That program will allow students to train for work as CNAs, and with several nursing and geriatric facilities in the area, they should be able to find jobs once they complete the program, school officials said.

Russell said he's hopeful that a few of the students in the firefighter program will join their local fire departments. He said the need is great and recruiting firefighters has become increasingly difficult in many area communities.

"If we get one kid in Warren and one kid in West Brookfield, I'll feel like we've done a good job," he said.

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