The Mount Vernon Fire Department has just launched a Cadets program.
That’s the second of our emergency services in the community who have started a Cadets program, with the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service creating a similar one last fall.
If you’re a youth interested in lifesaving, it’s a perfect way to get real world experience by joining these programs.
The fire department cadets program spells out that youth are not going to be entering burning buildings and will most likely serve in support areas on emergency calls, but those roles are just as important to a service that answers a lot of calls.
As fire chief Nathan Goodlove spelled out in the annual report, the service responded to 414 calls for service last year, up from 337 in 2021.
The response time for many calls is within six minutes, which exceeds the national standard response time.
Cadets, much like the LMVAS group, will learn in training the steps they need to be certified as a more full fledged volunteer with the service, getting training in skills in the firefighter 1 tier of responses. That will allow these high school members to eventually join the service as full volunteers in the future and give them skills they can take to other agencies and departments in the future as well.
It’s a great opportunity for those interested to get more hands on experience and work alongside some of the best volunteers in our community working to keep our communities safe.