Forty local students swapped their classroom for Dandenong Fire Station on Monday, 28 October to learn more about emergency services as part of the CFA-organised Next Generation Youth Program.
About 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from the Bunurong Youth Program and close to 30 students from Fountain Gate Secondary College met with members from CFA, Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, State Emergency Services Victoria and St John Ambulance.
The event kicked off at around 9.30am when the students split into groups and participated in a range of activities, spoke with emergency service members and inspected emergency vehicles.
Students participated in a rescue scenario where they attempted to rescue a firefighter from a facility filled with smoke, while police gave the students a hands-on look at investigation equipment and paramedics taught them how to conduct cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Leading Firefighter Stuart Radley said the Next Generation Youth Program aimed to break down barriers between multicultural youth living in the local community and emergency service members.
“This event is a great way of breaking down barriers and hopefully the kids get a bit of an insight into what we actually do as emergency service members,” Mr Radley said.
“Hopefully we’re able to plant a seed in their minds that they can do this in the future.”
Cultural and Diverse Engagement Officer Nada El-Masri said the event gave students the perfect opportunity to visit a fire station, ask questions and get involved in hands-on activities.
“Firefighters, police and paramedics all do different things, but they all work together and rely on each other,” Ms El-Masri said.
“We work as one and we want the kids to understand that.”
Virtual reality technology was also available to show students a number of different emergency scenarios.
“Some of these students can have a fear of the authorities and emergency service members, so we want to give them the confidence to approach firefighters and police when they see them,” Ms El-Masri said.
“The kids should understand they can be firefighters, police members or paramedics one day as well.
“It’s about building trust and communication between emergency services and these communities.”
Author: CFA Media