"Gavin Abundis watched as firefighter Adrian Chairez demonstrated how he uses pulleys and harnesses to rappel down buildings. You've probably seen it in the movies where they're going down Mission: Impossible style, Chairez said with a laugh one day this past winter as he prepared to step off a tower. We get to do that. Abundis, a then senior at Aptos high cchool in Santa Cruz county's Pajaro Valley unified school district,"
"He said it's pretty common to know someone who has been affected by fires in California, especially as they become more frequent and intense because of the climate crisis. That drew him to this class on fire technology, and may steer his career. Knowing that there's something that I can do about it to serve my community definitely encourages me to pursue this career, said Abundis."
"Demand for the course has grown so much in recent years that the Santa Cruz county office of education, which jointly runs the class with the Watsonville fire department, doubled the number of classes offered, from two to four, this school year. There was a time when we would go into the schools and recruit students, said Rudy Lopez Sr, fire chief of the Watsonville department. Now, they just sign up."
Students in Santa Cruz County are enrolling in fire-technology classes taught jointly by the county office of education and the Watsonville fire department. Enrollment demand has doubled from two to four classes this school year. Many students are motivated by personal experiences with wildfires and the increasing frequency and intensity of fires due to the climate crisis. Officials report that recruitment is now organic as students sign up. Schools and community colleges are expanding programs in fire science, watershed restoration, forestry management and search and rescue to meet growing workforce needs created by climate-related disasters.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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