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Junior Fire Academy student gets real-life experience

Sam Goertzen of Abbotsford was on a ride-along with a fire crew when they were called to a car fire on Saturday night.
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A participant with Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service’s (AFRS) Junior Fire Academy got a taste of what the job is really like on Saturday night.

Sam Goertzen, a student at Abbotsford Christian School, was on his second ride-along with an AFRS crew when they were called to a car fire at Clearbrook Road and Walmsley Avenue at about 11 p.m.

Firefighters quickly knocked down the fire, and then let Sam help put it out.

“It was my first time ever doing that … It was pretty satisfying (putting out the fire),” said Sam, whose goal is to become a firefighter after graduation.

The Junior Fire Academy provides high school students, who must apply for and be accepted to the program, with an idea of what a firefighting career entails.

Their classroom and hands-on learning includes auto extrication, the use of a self-contained breathing apparatus, fire hose use, search and rescue techniques, and live fire training.

For more information, visit abbotsford.ca/fire_rescue_service.