Over 100 Central Valley students to graduate from firefighting class
SANGER, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – On Thursday over 100 high school seniors will be graduating with the Valley Regional Program Urban-Rural firefighting class.
As students prepare to graduate, they are still hard at work.
Seniors with the Valley Regional Occupational Program get hands-on experience fighting fires.
They learned about roof operations on different buildings, how to stay low and close to the ground while carrying the water hose and how to break down a door to get inside a home or building.
Samantha Gomez is one of over one hundred students getting ready to graduate. She says the program has been rewarding and challenging.
“What’s challenging is just the strength part, being built to do it, always active,” Gomez said.
Valley R.O.P. serves Dinuba, Cutler, Kings Canyon, Kingsburg, Parlier, Sanger and Selma students, giving them high school and college credits.
The program also works with continuation students, helping them make a positive change and graduate from their high school campus.
“What I’ve seen over the last couple of years with some of these students is actually pulling these kids back in and giving them a family environment in the classroom that they may not have at home,” said Tim Garrison, who is the lead fire instructor.
For senior Vicente Lopez, it’s that family environment that has taught him how to fight fires and other essential qualities to navigate life.
“It’s taught me discipline,” Lopez said. “Discipline is a very big thing here because discipline in the fire service is to know that you are going to be taking calls at 3-4 in the morning and it’s going to take a lot of discipline to make yourself get up and go out to those fires and stuff.”
Once the graduate students leave the program, they are prepared for the fire academy and employment as emergency first responders.
“Right now, we have five students that actually went through both programs Valley R.O.P. urban and Wildland that our currently paid call volunteer fire department members for Reedley fire,” Garrison said.
The graduation will be on Thursday.
