High school grads in Columbus eligible for firefighter jobs when they graduate thanks to new program

Caption

Elijah Outlaw listens to an instructor at the Columbus Department of Fire & EMS training facility on August 25, 2021, in Columbus, Ga.

Credit: Madeleine Cook/Ledger-Enquirer

 Mark Rice, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

An expanded partnership between the Columbus Fire & EMS Department and the Muscogee County School District helps the city recruit firefighters and provides job opportunities for aspiring public servants, right out of high school.

After department officials visited each MCSD high school to explain the program last spring semester, more than 25 students participated in the Saturday morning program called Combat Challenge. From that program, two MCSD 2021 graduates, Aaden Austin from Northside High School and Elijah Outlaw from Shaw High School, were offered firefighter cadet positions with a starting salary of approximately $42,000.

In interviews with the Ledger-Enquirer, Outlaw and Austin said they pursued this career path for similar reasons: They figure college isn’t the right fit for them now, and they seek a way to serve their hometown in a challenging and vital job.

“I want to prove myself,” Outlaw said.

“My mindset and my priorities and morals kind of align with this line of work,” Austin said.

Combat Challenge

It’s called the Combat Challenge because it helps get firefighters in shape to combat fires, Austin said, but he also noted firefighters do more than fight fires.

“It’s a really dynamic job,” he said. “… They do dive and rescue, emergency and natural disaster situations. One division has community risk reduction, which helps prevent fires, going into homes, giving people extinguishers and setting up fire alarms and stuff like that.”

The Saturday morning program, which is free to attend and takes one year to complete, is open to anyone age 18 or older. It allows people interested in becoming a firefighter to learn about the department, meet firefighters and practice the physical agility component of the recruitment test at the drill field, 4191 Macon Road. 

The Combat Challenge tests participants in stair climb, forcible entry, victim rescue and lifting and advancing hoses.

Caption

A recruit practices hose drills at the Columbus Department of Fire & EMS training facility on August 25, 2021, in Columbus, Ga.

Credit: Madeleine Cook/Ledger-Enquirer

“It takes a very strong mindset, more than you realize,” Austin said. “If you’re a physically fit person and can run a mile under 8 or 7 minutes, and you can lift heavy weights, if your mindset isn’t there to continue to push when you’re tired, you won’t complete the Combat Challenge on time. … It gets you to not quit in the event of a real-life emergency.”

Recruiting, not just hiring

Exposing prospective candidates to the physical demands required of firefighting boosts the department’s ability to find qualified personnel, Columbus Fire & EMS Chief Sal Scarpa told the Ledger-Enquirer.

“Some people realize pretty quick that this job is not for everybody,” he said. “… We’re spending a lot more time now on the front end of our hiring. We’re no longer just hiring; we’re recruiting.”

In addition to excellent physical fitness, the department wants candidates to be mature and work well in teams.

“I have very high expectations for our people, and our community does,” Scarpa said, “so we hold our folks to a really high standard.”

Austin and Outlaw each said they appreciate the chance to meet that standard.

“Giving us this opportunity to find a job at such a young age and find a career, … I’m really grateful for that,” Austin said. “. . . This partnership gives anybody who is selfless … an opportunity to work and give back to the city at the same time.”

Growing partnership

The Saturday morning program is one part of the growing partnership between MCSD and Columbus Fire & EMS. Shaw has had an EMT training program since 2018. And this school year, Northside started a firefighter training program. Because most high school students are younger than 18, those classes aren’t allowed to train with fire, but they do all the other firefighter training, Scarpa said.

Now as firefighter cadets, Austin and Outlaw are going through tougher training. They started the yearlong recruit course in August to become fully certified. The hardest part is convincing yourself to not quit when fatigue and doubt arise, Outlaw said.

“Your body can go farther than your mind,” he said.

That happens when Outlaw crawls through a 75-foot tunnel to simulate a building’s tight and dark area, like an air shaft.

“You have all your gear on,” he said. “… You get really condensed inside that tunnel. You have to take your time. You have to tell yourself, ‘I can do it.’”

When he gets through it, Outlaw said, “It’s like an indescribable feeling. You can tell yourself, ‘I did that.’”

Austin appreciates the support he receives from fellow recruits and firefighters.

“The brotherhood that they have is very loving and caring,” he said. “It pushes the best out of you.”

And he intends to give his best to aid Columbus residents dealing with perhaps their worst.

“Going into someone’s very hopeless situation that’s very out of control, … having that need placed on my shoulders is very important because I feel like I can handle it,” Austin said. “It gives me a sense of pride. I feel very honored to be able to help somebody one day.”

HOW TO JOIN

To join the Saturday morning firefighter training program called Combat Challenge, call the Columbus Fire & EMS Department at 706-653-3500.