Children 9-12 learn techniques while having fun with firefighters, EMTs
OCEAN CITY — Camper cadets got rigged up in safety harnesses, saved victims in simulated emergency scenarios, sprayed the open street with a fire hose and learned other safety skills during the 13th annual Junior Firefighter Summer Camp.
Ocean City Fire Department hosted the camp July 10-13. Children between the ages of 9 and 12 shadowed OCFD firefighters as they learned safety skills and got a glimpse into the life of a firefighter.
Deputy Chief Charles Bowman said the program has gotten “bigger and bigger, and better and better” since its start in the summer of 2010.
“It is because of the firefighters and the guys that are working that make the camp what it is,” he said. “It gives them an opportunity to see what we actually do, specifically here in Ocean City. We do a multitude of things — fire, rescue, EMS, water rescue, high-angle rescue. We do a myriad of things in the community.”
The 31 campers were separated into four groups to tackle the four stations simulating victim rescues, stretching hose lines, riding in firefighting apparatus, splinting and bandaging and CPR.
Jordan Bodo, 10, returned for his second year at the summer camp. He said his favorite activity is riding in the cherry-red firetrucks while they simulate rescues.
Another activity he enjoyed was “climbing ladders.” His dream is to grow up to be a firefighter, he said after confirming he will be returning to the camp next summer.
Truck rides are consistent throughout the camp week. The campers ride the truck to the gardens and flow water, visit the other two fire stations, go down to ride on a fire boat and police boat, and simulate rescues.
Firefighter Bob Bender, who takes the cadets on the truck rides, said many of the campers return for as many as four years until they age out of the camp.
“It gives them a broader respect for what happens here. Most of the kids just like the big red firetrucks, but now they get to see it hands-on,” Bender said.
Logan Masters, 10, also attended his second year at the camp.
“It’s just fun meeting new people and just being a part of it,” he said.
Logan said he was a “little scared” as he donned the safety harness, climbed up the ladder and rappelled down slowly. He mustered up the courage to hang upside down as he dangled a few feet above the ground.
He smiled as he answered that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, firefighter Eric Masters.
Masters has been with the department for nine years.
“We get to give them a little taste of what we do. They have fun doing it. They get to see the fun part of the job. There’s plenty of fun that we have, but then when it’s time to go, we go,” he said about taking the campers through the stations.
Bryan Braun has been a firefighter and EMT for the department for 2½ years.
“It’s just fun interacting with the kids,” he said. “They get to learn some of the things we do like rappelling or climbing ladders.”
His favorite activity to show the campers is rappelling. Braun’s daughter, Isabella, 12, tackled her fear of heights as she rappelled down a rope. She, like most of the cadets, hopes to become a firefighter like her father.
Olivia Blankley, 10, also enjoyed her second year at the camp.
“My favorite thing is when we go on the boat, because we get to see what you do if you have to (do) a water rescue,” she said.
Becoming a 911 dispatcher is her dream. She sat down with her group at the CPR and dispatch station. The camp teaches “responsibility,” and this station is helpful to her because “if you’re ever in a situation where you need help, you learn what to do.”
Ocean City Police Department dispatcher Mark Newman said the station teaches the campers to “know what to call 911 for.”
The station has campers call 911 — really an OCPD dispatcher sitting in the other room. The simulated emergency walks children through a phone call with the dispatcher as they devise fake answers to the dispatcher’s questions about the situation. The campers recite a random address and age of the dummy torso lying on the ground in front of them.
One camper got laughs out of the group when he answered that the dummy was “100” years old.
Another dispatcher guides the campers as they perform CPR on the dummy with the instruction of the one on the phone.
“It’s important to stay on the line and talk to the dispatcher,” Newman said about the dispatch station.
Some campers said their favorite station this year was the smoke room. They got outfitted in firefighter gear and walked through a set-up smoke room as they were challenged to rescue a “victim.”
A celebratory pizza party closed out the final day of the summer camp. Campers’ family members joined them for a slice before the children all received a certificate upon completing the four-day educational, interactive camp.
By JOELLE CARR/For the Sentinel