A Fighting Chance

SANTA ANA —  Their lessons have involved drills in how to climb ladders, roll hoses, punch holes in buildings and save lives.

Today, the students will graduate as the 100th class of Rancho Santiago College’s Basic Fire Academy, the only community college fire technology program in Orange County.

Of the 38 graduates, two are women. One will become a third-generation firefighter and two others second-generation firefighters.

Since the first graduating class on Dec. 15, 1967, the academy has turned out 2,895 graduates, said Chief Richard Keller, academy commander.

The Santa Ana college began offering academic fire science classes in 1959 following the formation of a Fire Advisory Board, made up of local fire chiefs, firefighters, college staff and students. By 1967, a full-fledged academy concept was formed.

Since then, the program has evolved and expanded, offering certifications in such areas as hazardous materials, rescue techniques and emergency medical technician training. Also offered is a physical fitness program for firefighters and an occupational preparation program for women and minorities.

“After they’ve gone through the academy program, they’re ready to do the job,” said Anaheim Fire Capt. Bill Stroud, an academy instructor since 1974 and graduate of the college’s seventh academy.

Stroud said the academy has made great strides in preparing recruits for the job.

“When I first started teaching, we were instructing recruit firefighters, people who already had jobs and their fire department would send them here and we would train them so they had the skills,” said Stroud, a master instructor in ladder training.

“Now, we’re in the business of taking people who have a minimum background and we’re training them to become firefighters.”

The result, Stroud said, is “I think we get a much better quality of entry-level people. Now, they come to departments already trained and ready to roll.”

After today’s graduation, the recruits’ next step is to find a job. And it’s a scramble to land a spot at a fire department in Orange County, local fire officials said.

For instance, the Anaheim Fire Department handed out 2,300 applications in September. Through the screening process, the field of candidates, now numbering 450, will shrink even more. Ultimately only about 20 people will be hired over the next two years, said Tabby Cato, department spokeswoman.

“So you can see it’s very competitive,” she said.

But because academy graduates are so well-trained, recruits have no trouble landing jobs, Keller said.

“There are few jobs in the Southern California area,” he agreed. “But the training they’ve received here doesn’t limit them to Southern California.”

Keller said the college offers more than 160 courses for firefighters in eight degree programs. Each year, from 130 to 160 students graduate from the academy and about 750 students enroll in basic fire science classes.

The program has 450 instructors, including 130 for the academy, and the majority of them work for local fire agencies, Keller said.

For recruits of the 100th graduating class, today culminates more than 2,000 hours of classroom work, study, training and the 14-week academy. Recruits spent from 12 to 16 hours a day participating in classroom instruction, physical fitness training, fire and equipment drills and homework Keller said. The program takes place at fire training centers in Huntington Beach and Anaheim.

But in order to graduate, this past week they had to demonstrate that they have learned their lessons well and are ready to take on one of the most dangerous professions of all.

“This is the make it or break it day,” Keller said of Wednesday’s testing day. “This is the day they have to show they’ve mastered the skills they have been taught. They’re given a task and must perform it much the same as if they were given a task on a fire scene.”

For their final tests, recruits climbed ladders, performed rescues, conducted operations aimed at protecting and saving property, rolled out hose lines from a firetruck to hydrants, cut holes in buildings to release heat and smoke, and of course, put out fires.

Lauren MacDonald, 34, of Laguna Beach, had every confidence she would make it through final testing and graduate today. “It’s been a long haul,” said MacDonald who this week had to show she could climb a ladder up a two-story building on fire with a 35-pound air tank strapped on her back and heavy-duty firefighter’s ax at her side.

“It’s been quite an experience. But I’ve done well and I’m pleased with my performance.”

MacDonald’s interest in firefighting came after the fires in 1993 that ravaged her seaside town.

“A lot of my friends’ homes burned down and it was devastating,” she said. “I decided I wanted to help instead of just watch.”

Two other recruits chose a fire career because of influences by their fathers.

At 35, David Goodwin of Buena Park was unfulfilled with his career in construction and but did not want to follow his father and brother into firefighting just to follow their lead. “I’ve always been interested in it,” he said, “and I always felt the draw. After reexamining my life recently, I felt that going into the fire service was my decision and that’s when I fully went for it.”

As a boy, Brian Michals, 23, of Newport Beach, would hang out at the Denver fire station where his father worked. “It was real exciting to see them work and see the bond [the firefighters] have. It’s almost like a fraternity, and there’s nothing better than that,” Michals said.

Graduating from the academy, Michals added, is “fulfilling a dream.”

The graduation event, free and open to the public, will begin at noon with a display of fire engines, including vintage apparatus. The ceremony starts at 2 p.m. and features remarks by local fire officials, some of whom are graduates of the academy.