Fire Academy cadets from Howell Public Schools’ beat the heat in an end of the year training exercise.

Tuesday morning, cadets put their year’s worth of training to the test by confronting an actual fire set upon the Hamburg Fire Department Burn Tower. The students completed several exercises such as observing how a fire begins and grows, pulling hoses into the building, and performing search and rescue operations from inside a smoke-filled room. Cadet Jared Kaminski said they learned first-hand just how hot it gets in the gear and saw what it is like to be inside of a burning building.

The Howell Public Schools Fire Academy is a unique program open to high school juniors and seniors from around the county. During the year-long course, cadets will complete required classroom work and receive the practical training they need to earn their state firefighter’s certification. Several cadets begin working as junior firefighters with their local department during the year, and many graduates are now employed by fire departments across the Livingston County. (MK)