COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The City of College Station wants to inspire a younger generation of first responders through a summer program called “Community Action Safety Training.”
“CAST” is a joint camp between the College Station Fire Department (CSFD) and the College Station Police Department (CSPD) to show how first responders work together.
Fifteen kids aged eight to 12 years old are participating in the 4-day summer camp. The goal is to give young minds an inside look at what it takes to be a first responder.
So far, kids have worked with firefighters to practice fire extinguisher training, forcible entry, and CPR.
Camper Easton Ridley told KBTX he didn’t know what to expect, but was very happy his parents signed him up, “They have a cool job.”
Nine-year-old Easton said he is loving every second of CAST camp.
“We went down the fire pole and we get got to get sprayed from by the hose,” Easton described.
However, campers also learned emergency strategies, and it’s lessons like these that CSFD’s community outreach specialist and fire camp organizer Harlei Struck hopes stick with them.
“‘Pull, aim, squeeze, sweep the pass’ method. We also, we’re going to learn some CPR… Forcible entry, wall breaching,” listed Struck. “We’ll get to break through some drywall.”
Struck also said she sees it as the perfect opportunity to inspire the next generation of first responders.
“Encouraging the next generation, we want to keep this career up and going. Start with young guys and work their way up,” she shared.
Beyond learning how firefighters respond in an emergency, campers also get to see how they collaborate with police departments.
“PD and fire will be both on scene,” began Struck. “PD’s kind of taken ensuring that everybody’s staying safe while the guys are attacking the fire, taking it out.”
Easton added how CAST Camp piqued his interest, and this is something he can get behind, “It sounds cool, and I like helping people.”
Community action safety training spends two days with CSFD and two days with CSPD.
Wednesday was day three of CAST Camp, and kids participating began shifting gears over to College Station Police Department to learn officers’ day-to-day operations.
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