Does your child have dreams of being a firefighter? If the answer is yes, then it's likely he or she would have a blast learning skills with the Indianapolis Fire Department.
The 16th annual IFD Chief Brian Sanford Firefighter for a Day camp is all about getting kids between the ages of 7-12 outside and learning some new skills.
The firefighter for a day camp was held at the Warren Township Government Center.
This year, the camp has been renamed in honor of the man who started it in 2001. Chief Brian Sanford passed away in March of this year from ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Kids were able to come out today and go through numerous exercises from learning fitness tasks to crawling under smoke, in this case fog from a machine, to running an obstacle course.
Deputy Fire Marshall Anthony Conner taught kids how to call 911 and when it’s not OK to call. He also had practice phones as to teach the kids that they can call by themselves and get more comfortable doing it. One child had no knowledge on how to dial 911, but it was no problem for Conner to teach him.
“If we can educate someone out here and it saves a life, then the whole week is worth it,” he continues, “We’re having a lot of fun, but hopefully we’re teaching them [things] they can use and remember in an emergency.”
Public educator and Deputy Fire Marshall Nina Powell said it’s all about the kids. She also has kids come up to her when they come to camp to tell her they want to be a firefighter or that they have goals for the day.
Powell said, “We’re always excited to come out and educate the kids. Many times we find these children have never been exposed to these lessons. We [also] know that children learn better with hands-on than lectures.”
Firefighter with Station 1 Terrell Al-Sharif is a veteran at this with five years of experience. He said the program is more than just getting a foot in the door. It shows the children fire safety tips and even about health and fitness.
The first day of the camp was a success. The camp was at its max capacity of kids and it was a beautiful day for the kids to be outside enjoying the activities. The camp does run on June 22 and 23 weather permitting.
