Press Releases June 20, 2023

Nash Community College Completes First 24hr Fire Academy Shift

Nash Community College Fire Academy has completed the first 24hr simulation shift for its graduating cadets.

Five cadets completed the shift. As a culmination of their studies to become certified Firefighters, NCC Academy Instructors put together this 24hr shift to provide hands-on experience of what they can expect after graduation.

“This is something that we’ve thought about and wanted to do for a while,” said Joey Parks, director of fire services at NCC and retired firefighter. “This simulation tests the mental, physical and emotional aspects of what these cadets will experience when entering the emergency response field and in a Fire House.”

The shift started at 7:30 a.m. (0730 military time) with truck and equipment checks.

“Before each shift, they will be required to check vehicles and ensure that all equipment (both personal and mechanical) is operational and up to par for the shift,” said Parks.

During prep for the vehicle checks, cadets ensured all needed equipment was in their designated trucks and uniforms were up to code. The cadets had two trucks, a large reserve engine (lent by Rocky Mount Fire Department) called Engine 24, which was designated as Engine 1 for training, and the NCC Brush Truck designated Engine 2.

Willie Kearney, Coordinator of Fire Services/Instructor and Former Firefighter, completed truck checks to ensure cadets had prepped all the equipment appropriately for required standards.

“My first captain told me that the thing he doesn’t want to hear is a lot of doors closing because that means you don’t know where your stuff is,” said Kearney. “That’s unacceptable because everything we do is based on time.”

Cadets had to do physical training, shower, shop, cook together and have a shift meeting. Along with routine station maintenance, instructors planned four emergency response calls where they were required to leave their stationed area (as they would at a Fire House) and respond to a setup scenario with real actors and training dummies to a different location on campus.

“We set up four separate calls; four to six is typical for a regular shift,” said Parks. “These calls consisted of two Emergency Medical Service calls, one false alarm and one live (controlled) burn at the on-campus burn unit.”

The academy successfully completed this first-time experience due to the instructors’ planning and the help of all the partnerships with Rocky Mount Fire Department and Nashville’s Fire Department.

“NCC and all of us in the EMS program have an incredible relationship with local fire departments and emergency services that provide the resources we need to do what we do,” said Kearney.

Cadets have spent the past 19 weeks completing the academy and will transition into the EMT Academy for an additional eight weeks.