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Redo; What to expect at my first academy as an eager teen?
I leave to participate in a two day 'academy' try-out at my uncle's station on Friday. I am a teenager in HS and I'm very excited, but truthfully I am a little intimidated by the number of unfamiliar people that will be there. How should I address them? Is Sir or Ma'am acceptable? What kind of workouts have you experienced at academies? I hear I will be unrolling a lot of hoses lol. What time do you usually wake up, what was a typical day like for you? Did they provide uniforms or a certain dress code? Any and all information is greatly appreciated :)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by joemac on
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What do you want to fool around with hoses and ladders and dangerous situations for?
Shouldn't you be into horses and ballet, or something?
Hey, hey, I'm, kidding.
I would suggest you look up the website for the particular academy and see what you can find there. It will surely have the info you need to get a good idea of what you should expect.
Good luck and have fun, be safe.
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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Brianna - this question is posed much more maturely. Nice job.
Yes - use sir and ma'am - since you are in HS - and the fire service is para-military.
The 3 UP's... always a good place to start.... LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN... then
SHOW UP
KEEP UP
SHUT UP
NO PRACTICAL JOKES OR PLAYING AROUND - THAT IS HOW PEOPLE GET HURT - Rules are in place for SAFETY....
And NOPE - unrolling hoses is easy... you should be much more worried about rolling UP hoses... and hauling hose UP ONTO the trucks to pack it back in place... and hauling it UP stairs and OVER objects and UP hill... LOLOL... and other non-unrolling activities... LOL
Worry about uniforms, schedule, and the like later... focus on the purpose of the fire service and your passion to move forward with learning more about the commitment to serve that purpose...the rest will fall into place if you follow your passion.
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Permalink Reply by Bente Millek on
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Hi
I´d say, stick ya finger in the ground. Respect those you will learn n are with. Ask questions even when you only have a feel for it. As a newbie i believe it´s important not to be shy to ask. Better ask 50 times than not at all n assume all is at it is, n whammo whoops mistake happens. Treat them as you treat your grandparents in the respect sir yes maám sense.
Curb your eagerness as too much can cause ahm issues.
Also i agree we look the place up, read study it, that way you have a head start. Always a smart thing to do regardless of what area you seek future job in.
I also know that they wont have you do anything you cannot nor arent ready for. So breathe and do your best.
Oh ah one more thing. Let them teach you. Dont say ive got this i know this bc each place has their unwritten rules and regs. Plus the written ones as well.
Best of luck sweetie
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Permalink Reply by Andrew on
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You seem to be level-headed, so you should be fine at the academy.
The academy that I went to was every weekday for two weeks, about 2-3 hours a night, and that was only hands on (classrooms took much longer).
You should expect a lot of hose-handling, and yes, that includes packing and unpacking. Expect to learn about different classifications of fire, search techniques, forcible entry tactics, and much more.
Some classes will be harder than others. One day they a bunch of us sitting in a room and set pallets on fire - easy. The next day they had my group doing hose-handling revolutions where we'd run around like a real-life situation - a little hard, especially when you're whipping around a deuce and a half. Another day we sat in a classroom (seems easy enough so far, right?) and did knots - HARD. I'm terrible with knots, but I managed to pass.
There's a lot of information to absorb in the academy.
As you suggested, yes, "sir" and "ma'am" are perfect, as they are respectful ways to refer to the personnel.
If you had additional time I'd say you should do some exercises to ensure you're in better shape, but it's tomorrow (at least that's what I got from the post).
Good luck. You'll do fine.
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