ROCKINGHAM — Kids at one summertime day camp got a double-dose glimpse into the world of public safety.
The Rockingham police and fire departments teamed up this year for the Junior Police and Fire Academy, something chiefs Billy Kelly and Harold Isler hope will be a continued partnership.
“Instead of us coming up with me doing the fire academy and him doing the police academy, we just thought it would be more beneficial to combine it,” Isler said Wednesday. “That way they can see both aspects of it, they can see the law enforcement side as well as the fire side.”
The fire chief added that his department had volunteers who were willing to come in donate their time, so there would still be personnel to respond to calls while others could help with the camp.
Luckily, he said, there weren’t any emergency calls during the days the kids were at the station.
Kelly told the Rockingham City Council on Tuesday that there were 61 teens who had registered and 55 who showed up. Out of those, about 10 were returning.
“So far, they’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “They’ve had a lot of questions.”
Lunch for the week was donated by Burger King, Papa John’s and Zaxby’s — with police officers cooking for the kids on Thursday at the fire department, before taking them to swim at Browder Park.
For Monday and part of Tuesday, the academy centered around police work — including crime scene investigation — and the dangers of the job.
Then Tuesday afternoon, the kids walked down to the fire department to learn CPR and practiced breaths and compressions on dummies.
Wednesday morning they learned about the different types of fire extinguishers used on certain types of fires and were treated to a live-burn exercise.
In the afternoon, however, things got a little more wet and wild.
The kids were split into groups and used fire hoses to spray a bucket suspended on a rope to the opposing team’s side. One contest pitted boys against girls and another had the boys team against four Rockingham firemen.
There was also an exercise where each student had to cut off a sprinkler system using two wooden wedges as water sprayed directly into their faces.
Isler said he and Kelly hope that by collaborating, it will help the kids decide which avenue they might want to go down.
“These are our future leaders, who are here,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll get some good information and good knowledge out of everything that we’ve taught them while they’ve been here.”
Something else Isler hopes was instilled in them was how to be a good listener and follow directions, which he said was important in both jobs.
The camp is open to children ages 11 to 17 and some were — and probably will be — “repeaters,” like 12-year-old Savanna Tunstall, who is from Scotland County, and now in her second year at the academy.
“I like it being with the fire department because we do fun activities, like getting wet and stuff,” she said, adding that the level of fun was “about the same” between the departments.
The camp also featured junior firefighters from Cordova and East Rockingham.
All those who participated will receive a certificate of completion Aug. 1 at National Night Out.
Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675.
