It is all about reaching for that next rung of the ladder when becoming a firefighter.
The Northeast Tennessee Fire Training Association was in Elizabethton Monday doing their annual rookie school lessons outside the Elizabethton Fire Department building.
“Our responsibility is the ladder portion of the rookie school,” Lt. Andy Wetzel with the EFD said. “The school itself is 14 weeks long. We only have two days of training that Elizabethton is responsible for. Students here learn the basics of the ladder. We start with the basics and move on from there.”
Rookies from Morristown, Kingsport, Johnson City, Bristol and one volunteer from Avoca took part in the basics of ladder safety to cross off an item on their list before becoming a certified firefighter.
“There’s a wide variety of firefighters,” Wetzel said. “They’re all rookies from each of these departments and they are a great group of guys. Once they finish school, they’ll go on shift to work. This is a small piece of what goes on.”
Rookie school goes twice a year and the EFD has been busy helping train the future emergency workers in the Tri-Cities.
“We’ve been bringing students here for 10 years,” Wetzel said. “The department has been involved with rookie school for probably about 25 years. At one time, the school was located in Johnson City and the students never moved. Now, the rookies will rotate across the Tri-Cities to get their training.”
At the end of the training, rookie firefighters will end their schooling by working a live-burn situation.
Wetzel added the EFD instructors also go to Kingsport and Johnson City for other skill days to help work with students.