When her grandmother and mother joined the Nordheim Volunteer Fire Department, Addison Corpus tagged along to training sessions and meetings, basically growing up at the fire station.
“It was kind of like a family thing,” Corpus said, describing the relationships that connect herself and two other junior firefighters to the fire station.
Now a 17-year-old, Corpus along with Cody Jones, 16, and Tanner Green, 14, expanded their skills and knowledge for a week in June at the Junior Firefighter Camp at West Virginia University.
All three recently shared their camp stories, wearing their day-glow yellow camp shirts, at the Nordheim VFD meeting room. Later that evening, they set up a smoke rescue course and hose training for the adult firefighters to practice.
Jones said there were 25 states represented among the 150 campers.
“Four people were from Texas,” he said.
“Us three, and then there was another one from El Paso. And all the instructors there were either from the university or were actual volunteers and paid firefighters.”
The three teens said 22 campers went home because they did not realize how physical it was going to be. They described getting up at 6 a.m. and going to four training sessions a day then team activities at night, which included poster making, movies, and tag.
“We didn't get into bed till like 12 a.m.,” Corpus said, still glowing with excitement.
“I would love for more children from our area to go,” Jones said.
Addison agreed. In fact, since at 17 she has aged out, she was asked to come back as a volunteer next year.
The list of training covered is impressive: confined space entry; forced entry; hoses (drafting from a river and tanker); water rescue; confined harness; search and rescue; car, airplane and helicopter fire; smoke room SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) body retrieval; propane fires; CPR and first aid; repelling down hill; aerial and ground ladders; and more.
Green said the search and rescue in a smoke room, with SCBA, was probably his favorite.
He talked about training in the rain and the mud with a big grin on his face, recalling a few messy trips repelling downhill.
Peggy Oliver, who drove the teens to West Virginia, said the tuition fee of $550 covered each camper’s SCBA gear and everything else from the time they got there.
“The community of Nordheim and some surrounding ones, really came together to donate money to help pay for the expense of the camp and to help with gas on the way up there,” she said.
Nordheim’s adult volunteer firefighters complete a search and rescue set up by the junior firefighters. They had to crawl through the obstacles, communicating constantly and retrieve the person within five minutes. PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY PEGGY OLIVER
Junior firefighters saluted the US flag each morning as it was raised. Campers were divided into ladders and battalions with a par check several times a day.
From left, NVFD Fire chief Derrick Green, Cody Jones, Addison Corpus, Tanner Green and Assistant Fire Chief Steven Caves.
Registration included SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) for each camper.
Maverick Caves is already training on the SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) proving that the Nordheim Volunteer Fire Department truly is a family affair.
Cody Jones demonstrates hose techniques at a recent training.
Three campers rest between training sessions. Nordheim’s Cody Jones said there were 46 girls at the Junior Firefighters Camp, all of whom stayed, while 22 boys went home after learning how physical the week would be.
In the aerial ladder training, junior firefighters had to crawl across an aerial ladder for building entry.
