Hoses, ladders and fire turnips covered Valley High School’s basketball courts for the official launch of the school’s new Fire and Emergency Services Pathway. Held on Thursday, September 7, the Sacramento Fire Department’s Station 7 firefighters visited the school in their fire engines to officially meet and greet with the first class of Fire and Emergency Pathway students. Thanks to a partnership with the Sacramento Fire Department, an unprecedented 70 students signed up for the new pathway!

With a go get ’em attitude and a new program, these young Vikings will prepare for a career in the fire and emergency services industry. Once they complete this multi-year Career Connected Learning program, students will trade their horned helmets in for a firefighter’s helmet and climb their way up the ladder toward becoming a firefighter or emergency service responder. A special thanks also goes to the Cosumnes Community Service District’s Fire Department, who donated a fire engine for the new Fire and Emergency Services Pathway program to provide students with real-life learning experiences with the program’s own fire engine.

During the launch event, 12 Station 7 firefighters oversaw six friendly competitions between student “platoons.” Each event replicated aspects of skills students will learn in the new pathway program.

Kathy Hamilton, director of College and Career Options, smiled and stated, “Our Career Connected Learning opportunities help students prepare for college and career. Offering a pathway like fire and emergency response shows our interest in partnering with the business community and demonstrates to our parents that we’re prioritizing high-demand industries. This is a win-win for our community, the public service industry and for our students.”

The creation of the new Fire and Emergency Services Pathway through a partnership with the Sacramento Fire Department will provide Viking students with work-based learning opportunities such as fire station tours, job shadowing, mentoring, and ride-alongs. Additionally, the fire department will also speak to pathway students on the Valley campus and train the students to participate in events to educate the community about fire prevention and suppression.

We can’t wait to see the great skills the students will learn during the program!