Salisbury Fire Department runs Fire Junior Academy program

Salisbury, Md. – The Salisbury Fire Department is running a Fire Junior Academy program this week at Station 16.

Retired Assistant Chief Ed Hastings is all smiles as he watches his granddaughter participate in the junior fire program.

“This is really great because, you know, having done it as a career for many years and being able to come back and help out with all the young kids, it’s so refreshing to see that maybe we have some future firefighters here. But the hands-on experience for them is incredible. It’s a great experience for everybody,” Hastings said.

Emma Ryan couldn’t be more excited to see what Grandpa’s job was like.

“It’s very fun, and he’s also helped us a lot. We get to do a lot of stuff, and it was very fun climbing the ladder. He got to climb that behind me. That was fun,” she said.

Officials said the mission is simple.

“Our goal is to try to get them to fall in love with the fire service and/or EMS service so they can potentially volunteer in their community or make this a career,” said Salisbury Fire Department Lt. Zach Bridges.

Hastings also said, “When I was here, I used to do a lot with fire prevention. So the youth is the future for us.”

Ryan encourages anyone interested to get involved: “I hope that will be fun for anybody who would want to come,” she said.

The program running this week is for younger kids, and the second week will run in early August for an older group.