18-02-2025
Myrtle Beach Fire Department hosts 7th Citizens Fire Academy
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The Myrtle Beach Fire Department welcomed new members to its 7th Citizens Fire Academy, where community members get hands-on training and take a deeper look at the department's operations.
The department started the 10-week program in 2019, and Capt. Jonathan Evans said it incorporates a little bit of everything.
'This week we're doing EMS skills, talking about CPR, showing them an ambulance, all those things,' Evans said. 'Next week, we'll be doing a history of the fire service so, they'll kind of see where the whole thing started, all the way up. They'll also get to go to the Emergency Operations Center and check out what they have going on there.'
He said this year's 18-member group is the largest yet
'I've had everything from 18 to 81 years old in this class, and it's all about how much you want to get into it. It's not for a job necessarily, it's more for information,' Evans said. 'Although, it uses as a pathway for some folks get hired to learn more about the department, so we can also learn more about them.'
Evans said a handful of members selected for this program have graduated and become firefighters; others may have helped the department gain sponsorships.
'We want our community to be educated because it helps for when we go to ask for a fire truck, or a station, or whatever the case may be,' Evans said. 'If we're not showing them why, or what we need it for, or what we're doing, it kind of makes it a little more difficult.'
Evans said the group meets once a week for about two hours.
'They'll do some fire skills later on in the fire gear, and right here on the training ground do the smoke maze, do the burn building, really getting as involved as they want to get,' he said.
Evans said those in the group will also have the opportunity to drive a fire truck through a concise course, go up about a hundred feet in the ladder truck, and learn water rescue skills.
'We haven't had the chance to get them to the ocean yet with this program because of the time of the year when we do it, but usually, we go to one of the city pools,' Evans said. 'Chief Mitch talks about what the water rescue program is. We'll have some of his ocean rescue supervisors, and they'll do some skills in the pool.'
Currently, Evans said the program is only offered during the springtime.
He said the department has talked to a few state representatives in different departments about the program to hopefully start implementing it elsewhere.
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Jackie LiBrizzi is a multimedia journalist at News13. Jackie is originally from Hamilton, New Jersey, and was raised in Piedmont, South Carolina. Jackie joined the News13 team in June 2023 after she graduated as a student-athlete from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. Follow Jackie on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
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