Students at Lincoln High School in South San Diego are learning to fight fires. Its part of a new career-tech program designed to groom the next generation of emergency responders. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
Seventeen-year-old Julio Valencia is crawling through a maze of wooden crates blindfolded. His classmates are trying to distract him by banging on the walls. Valencia is wearing a yellow fire-resistant suit. His only lifeline is a fire hose, which he holds on tight until he gets to the end.
Valencia: It was really intense and adrenaline pumping, not knowing where you are going. You just got to follow the rope. And, as they said, its just about knowing what you got to do.
The drill is designed to strengthen a firefighter's search-and-rescue skills. And its just one of the many hands-on lessons the students tackled at San Diego's Fire Training Center. The experience caps a year-long program in which students were introduced to the field of public safety. Many of the teens here now say they want to be fire fighters after high school.
San Diego Unified's Virginia Eves says the district is working with Miramar College to get students interested in public safety jobs before they graduate.
Eves: Miramar College has had police and fire safety for a number of years, and of course they've done an awesome job with their police academy and fire academy. But the great opportunity for us now is to reach out to a much larger group of high school students. So we're very excited about this.
Moms and dads hope the program keeps their kids engaged in school. Community leaders hope young people develop better attitudes toward public safety officers.
Sophomore Olivia George says she's not cut-out to fight fires but does have a newfound respect for those on the front line.
George: Crawling and trying to find people and rescue people...its just not my thing. But I actually like the class and the course as it is.
San Diego Unified plans to expand the program to include juniors and seniors next year.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
