Covington Holmes High School carpentry students attended the Covington Fire Department on E. Robbins Street in order to show off their recently crafted wooden training props. The props will be integral tools for training local firefighters.
After the props were displayed for the media at 12:30 p.m., Covington firefighters used them in live demonstrations for the students, even allowing them to participate in the drills.
The students built the props in their carpentry class, led by instructor Eric Breetz. The students built two props that were displayed at the station, a breakaway floor and window-entrance simulator.
“The students decided to try and reach out to connect with the fire department and find some way we could work with them,” Breetz said. “Originally we were going to build some walls for them at their training facility, but they ended up selling that facility. This was our alternative plan to build these props for their new facility.”
The props will be entered in the SkillsUSA Championships, a national competition showcasing career and technical education students in the country.
“Holmes SkillsUSA students became involved with this project to apply their technical skills and knowledge in service of their community,” said Breetz. “We felt that this was the best opportunity to give back to Covington.”
Lt. Jimmy Adams demonstrated the proper landing technique if a firefighter fell through a weak floor by using the breakaway floor prop. Using the window-entrance prop, Adams demonstrated how to enter a building through a window, and how to rescue a person using a fire ladder. The fire department finished off their demonstrations by allowing the students to dress up in full firefighter gear and weave their way through an obstacle course. The demonstrations provided the students with the satisfaction of seeing their props durability.
Not only is the prop donation beneficial for the craftsmanship ability of the students, but also the fire department. Corey Deye, Assistant Chief of Training for the Covington Fire Department, expressed his excitement for the demonstrations as a potential recruiting tool for younger people.
“I think it’s been an awesome experience for the kids, not only to actually work with their hands to build these props, but also to learn a little bit about the fire service,” Dye said. “We’ve talked to some of them who are potentially interested in becoming firemen, on how to become a fireman. How they can do that. The fire service needs people, just as any trade in today’s world. We need firemen, we need policemen. We need all the trades. Hopefully this kind of sparks interest in the young people to come back.”
Donovan Starr, a 17-year old carpentry student who helped build the props, is interested in becoming a firefighter after he graduates from Holmes. Starr believes having similar events for younger people will help the fire department gain recruits. Starr is optimistic on how their carpentry projects will fare in the SkillsUSA Championships.
“I think we’ll do very well. What we built is a community service project,” Starr said. “I think it’ll do very well. We put a lot of hard work into building these props. We’re happy to see the fire department put them to good use.”
