Two members of the Greenville Junior Firefighter program took part in an intensive training event last week at the University of Illinois in Champaign.
Noah Zykan and Jay Neer attended the Illinois Fire Service Institute’s Fire Explorer Cadet Training, a four-day fire school that included both classroom instruction and hands-on firefighting exercises. The program ran from Thursday through Sunday and brought together more than 250 cadets from Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and other states.
Training covered a wide range of firefighting skills including SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) drills, confined space entry, ladder operations, search and rescue, forcible entry, vehicle extrication, and live fire scenarios.
Junior firefighters from Shoal Creek, Staunton, and Mount Olive also participated in the event.
According to the Greenville Fire Protection District, Zykan and Neer received valuable experience that will help them better serve the community and made several new friendships along the way. Greenville Fire Training Officer Robert Neer served as their chaperone.
