Junior Firefighters Learning The Ropes In Overnight Stay

The Sullivan Junior Firefighters are continuing a program started some time ago in which junior firefighters, with senior firefighter instructors, are allowed to man Sullivan Fire Station One on a Saturday and Sunday night, once a month. 

Junior firefighters receive training and provide valuable support to the district.

According to Sullivan Fire Captain and Junior Instructor Jimmie Smythe the program really helps the young firefighters learn the roles of senior firefighters and what life is like in the fire service when you are on a 24-hour shift.

“We will spend the day checking all of the fire trucks in Station One, making sure everything is in proper order and working should a call come in,” said Smythe. “Then often we clean the firehouse and do training programs with the junior firefighters.”

Smythe stated that it provides a great opportunity for the juniors to work alongside senior firefighters in training and provide some very good educational programs.

“Our junior firefighters look forward to this day once a month in which again we do a number of programs throughout the day and then stay overnight at Station One to give them some valuable experience in what’s it’s like to be a full-time firefighter. It’s been a very good program and we look forward to it continuing,” said Smythe.

The junior program, since the Sullivan Fire District completed their remodel of Station One on North Church Street, officially has bunk rooms in which the younger firefighters can operate the overnight stays in a real setting. 

The Sullivan Fire Protection District has been very active in its junior program, hosting a summer fire school in which some 30 young firefighters come to Sullivan each June for a week-long training program that has been recognized by the State of Missouri Fire School.

The Sullivan Junior Fire program currently has 13  members in the district. Several past junior firefighters have gone on to stay with the department and also become full-time firefighters in the Sullivan District along with many other nearby districts. The program has also had several junior firefighters go into the emergency medical technician and paramedic programs as well.