About Us and the History Behind the Post
We are a group of teenagers and young adults (14-21) that are interested in the fire service. We are located in Southwest Florida in Lehigh Acres, a community of 32,000 people. We meet every Tuesday from 6-8 PM at Station 2.
Station 2 was the first fire station built in Lehigh. It was constructed in the mid 1960's to provide fire protection for a sleepy retirement community known as Lehigh Acres. Based in Station No. 2 are our most modern pieces of apparatus. Engine 250, Rescue 110, brush 430, and Ladder 310 are opperated out of Station 2. Also there is the Service Bay and supplies for refueling and re-stocking the ambulances. |
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Some of the Programs We are Involved With
We have a program called Ride Time. Once an Explorer has attended for 3 months, has passed 2 tests, is certified in First Aid and CPR, and is issued some fire gear and a uniform, they can ride on the fire trucks. Presently, we are supposed to wear light Nomex jump-suits, but we do not have enough so some explorers must where the same type of gear as the fire fighters. In addition to the suits, we wear fire boots, helmets, and leather gloves.
We are allowed to stay at the fire staion from 9AM - 5PM on days without school (except Sunday)and ride along to all the calls that we receive. We are also allowed to ride on Friday afternoons from 12PM to 6PM. However, we may not ride on the ambulance, because of patient privacy issues. Once on the scene of a call, we are told what to do by the fire fighters on the truck.
Although many of our calls are medical calls, every once in a while, we will get a brush fire or a car accident. When we get a brush fire call, we will respond in the engine and attach hoses to the trucks, help fill up brush fire trucks with water, and get tools for the fire fighters. Once the fire is declared under control, we are allowed to ride on the brush trucks to go into the fire ground and fight what is left of the fire.
When we get a medical call, we are allowed to perform basic procedures, such as taking blood pressure and recording vital signs.
Where We Stand Today
We currently have 7 explorers and 5 adult leaders. One of our explorers has just gotten hs state FireFighter certifcation and is on his way to Emt school. we hope to grow more and bring more intrested youth to the program.
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