VIDEO: As fire departments across the country struggle with declining recruitment, the Muscatine Fire Department is investing in the next generation through its Fire and EMS Explorers program, a hands-on training group for kids ages 14 to 21.
The Muscatine Fire and EMS Explorers program gives participants the chance to train alongside working firefighters and EMTs, exposing them early to careers in fire service, emergency medical services and health care. The program restarted in 2021 after a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to grow since then, according to advisor Michael Fleming.
“I’ve been with them since [2021] and kind of took over the program, and from there we’ve kind of been growing our program a lot here recently,” Fleming said.
The Explorers typically meet on the first and third Sundays of each month for several hours, covering many of the same skills taught to adult fire recruits. Training topics include search and rescue, rapid intervention team training for downed firefighters, smoke behavior and the history of major fires. Upcoming sessions include ice rescue training, and the group also participates in rappelling exercises.
“Pretty much anything that we try to put our normal fire recruits through, we actually put the youth through as well,” Fleming said. “We’ve even sent some of our explorers to the Illinois Fire Service Institute to their cadet school during the summer.”
