Today the Warsaw Board of Works and Public Safety passed Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Fire Chief Michael Brubaker‘s proposal to donate no longer used fire equipment to young firefighters in training.

The equipment – comprised of ladders, fire hoses and other materials – will be donated to the Firefighter I class at Warsaw Community High School’s Career Center. Brubaker believes students of the course will benefit from training with actual equipment.

According to Brubaker, other county fire departments have also donated equipment to this course that allows high school students to graduate with a Firefighter I certification. The scrap value for the donated fire fighting equipment is estimated by Brubaker at roughly $650, with most of the value stemming from the ladders, which he surmised would be about $100 each.

“We compiled this list and put it together and really, if we sell it it’s going to be at scrap price, we aren’t going to get anything out of it, but it is really great equipment for students to get their hands on,” Brubaker told the B.O.W. “I know the other county departments have been doing the same thing, going through in finding equipment that’s back in their corners and have been slowly donating it and building a great program down there.”

According to Brubaker the program has seen much success. He said there are currently a total of 20-22 students in the program. Approximately 40 students applied for a position in the Firefighter I Certification course. 

“This is a very very good program, I think this county will be light years ahead to be able to have this because we are going to have students who are 18 years old coming out of the Career Center with Firefighter I as soon as they graduate. And they get their state test taken they can come straight to any department in Kosciusko county and they are ready to go,” he added.

Though the students are benefiting both scholastically and on a potential career training level, Brubaker stated this is not all he believes Career Center students will garner from the experience. “The biggest thing is, in the day and age we live in, we don’t put these kids at a young age in volunteering [situations],” he explained. “By the time they turn 20 to 21, that volunteer mindset is not there and I think this is very important that we get them hooked into a volunteer mindset.”