Monday was a great day for a group of year 7 students who are part of the Clontarf Academy at Broken Hill High School.
A trip down the road to the Broken Hill Fire Station as part of the worksite visitation program was a great experience for the boys.
Don Peters, Station Officer at Broken Hill Fire Station, said it was great to have the visits from the kids and the firefighters enjoyed the opportunity to share their experiences of the job.
“It’s not often we get the younger teenagers of this age group coming to the station, it’s usually the younger kids, so having this group is really good because we can give them more advanced information,” SO Peters said.
“We try and create a bit of interest in them becoming better members of society, not necessarily firefighters, but having a better insight as to what happens within the community as they visit different organisations.
“We can show them more interesting stuff than we normally do with the eight-year olds and get them to touch and handle things because they are more physically capable.
“I think most young boys enjoy the tools and getting their hands on stuff, so it’s good for them,” Mr Peters said.
Firefighters demonstrated and gave the boys the opportunity to use the jaws of life, and their latest training tool, a door designed to simulate breaking into a locked entrance.
In the midst of the demonstrations a fire call was received, and the boys were able to see firsthand how quickly and efficiently firefighters are able to pack the truck and be on the road.
Sheldon Hall from Clontarf Foundation said the worksite visits were very important, and this was this group’s first worksite visit.
“This is part of the Clontarf program where we do education, employment, well being and sport with our partners and the local NSW Fire and Rescue is one of our partners, so we try to get down to do a worksite visit to show the boys what it’s all about.
“It gives the kids as many avenues for a chance of employment, some of these kids might not want to be a firie but we might get one kid out of five that might finish year 12 and decide that that is what they want to do,” said Mr Hall.
