Three people have joined the Sunshine Valley Volunteer Fire Department’s ranks in a new program aimed at giving local youth something to sink their teeth into.
“The idea is, they will do exactly the same and they’ll get exactly the same training as the adult members,” fire chief Chris Terry said. “So by the time they’re 18, or 17, they should have an idea whether it’s something they want to do when they leave school.”
The department has recruited three youth between the ages of 15 and 18, two live in the valley full-time and the third is a weekend resident. Terry wants to keep the program to four at first, to see how it goes.
It is the first time the department has included youth in their ranks, Terry said programs like theirs are starting up across the country.
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