Nicolas Bazaldua from COMM 2311 contributed to this story. Photos of the academy are also his.
Where there’s smoke, there’s…firefighters.
And in order to become one, the recent deadly wildfires in the Panhandle prove
a person must have courage and an ability to drop everything and go when a call comes in.
Do you have what it takes? Students at the South Plains College Fire Academy have plenty of hands-on opportunities to find out.
On this random Friday in February, Fire Academy Instructor Joseph Wallace says students are learning hazmat awareness and operations.
“We have a full-on live fire component,” Wallace says. Wallace says he’s been a part of Lubbock Fire Rescue for 12 years.
Phillip Grandon, instructor and the Fire Academy coordinator, is a professional firefighter too. He is a captain with Lubbock Fire Rescue, and he’s been with Lubbock Fire Rescue for 15 years. He says he appreciates being able to teach outside of a textbook.
“We can sit here and talk about what is in this textbook,” Grandon says, “but for me, it’s make it real.”
The SPC Fire Academy recently installed a new practice tower on its campus on East Ursuline Street in Lubbock. Here students can practice live training procedures under their instructors’ supervision. This state-of-the-art facility simulates low visibility, tightly packed bedrooms and hallways, and long flights of stairs to prepare students for real life fires.
“We’re pulling hoses,” Grandon says, “rescue mannequins, and when it’s really smoky they find out how difficult it really is.”
Instead of traditional school supplies such as protractors, glue sticks, and calculators, students at the fire academy use supplies like air packs and PPE (personal protective equipment) gear, hoses, and axes. Wallace says Lubbock Fire and Rescue gives academy students all the equipment and tools they need to earn their fire rescue certification.
“South Plains College has a very generous partnership with Lubbock Fire Rescue,” Wallace says.
Students don’t need any prior “college knowledge” to get into the academy, he says. “You can just come right off the street,” Wallace says.
Grandon clarifies that while college core classes or a degree are not required for an entry-level position, that doesn’t mean the academy is any less academically demanding.
There are two sections of courses. Wallace handles evening adult classes while Grandon teaches morning high school courses.
“We cap our classes at 25,” Grandon says.
The SPC Fire Academy webpage outlines the various degrees or certifications students can earn. The page explains the Fire Technology program at SPC consists of three components:
- Basic Fire Academy Level 1 Certificate
- Advanced Fire Technology Level 2 Certificate, with either Emergency Medicine or Fire Service specializations; and
To become a firefighter successfully, Grandon says a person needs to
be dedicated to a one-year challenging academic, mental, and physical program.
“Career firefighters have to know a lot about a lot,” he says. “When a 911 call comes, we do not get to say ‘no’ or throw our hands up and say ‘we don’t know what to do.’ We must perform at a high level in a stressful situation to solve someone’s emergency whether they are trapped in a structure fire, involved in a serious car accident or were sprayed with a hazardous chemical. No one else is coming.”
The SPC Fire Academy has a Facebook page which features updates as well
as photographs of students in action.
The academy’s Facebook page also lists jobs. For instance, back in December
the page announced Wolfforth Fire & EMS was hiring. Another post urges readers
to check out job postings on the Texas Commission on Fire Protection website.
The starting pay, the post promises, ranges from 40k all the way to over 80k.
“If someone wants to truly be a valued asset of their community,” Grandon says, “and have a purpose in their profession, being a firefighter an be a great and rewarding career path.”
To learn more about the SPC Fire Academy, head to the academy’s web page, Facebook page, or contact Phillip Grandon at a pgrandon@southplainscollege.edu.
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