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Student Learning Benefits from Donated Fire Truck
PSA Civic Leadership High School (PSA-CLHS) students are excited to be the recipients of a recently donated fire truck from the town of South Windsor and the South Windsor Fire Department. Now they’ll have access to hands-on experience in many aspects of fire service training that the Enfield school offers, such as pump operations, calculation of pump pressures and friction loss, fire suppression operations, and fire behavior. The ability to teach these skills will help to make the school’s theme classes, which include Fire Science, Chemistry, Intro to Fire and EMS, and Forensics more authentic.
Fire Chief Kevin Cooney, a 35-year veteran of the South Windsor Fire Department, sees the donation as an excellent way to interest students in careers in fire service. “Donating the truck keeps it useful. Young adults can learn from it and perhaps join the fire service,” he said.
Cooney said the idea to donate the older truck to PSA-CLHS was a combination of factors. Several of the town’s firefighters are graduates and two of the school’s students are part of the department’s explorer program. With the town’s support, donating the truck seemed like a natural extension of the department’s longstanding relationship with the school.
According to Principal Jeff Larson, “I’m excited for the students and forever grateful to the town of South Windsor and the South Windsor Fire Department for the donation,” he said. “This is another example of ways that our school theme is brought to life in the classroom for our students.” He said having the truck makes it possible for the school to add more theme courses in the future. It may also be used to recruit students.
Joe Jarvis, a PSA-CLHS fire science instructor and retired firefighter, agrees. “To have a working fire truck at the school is a way to inspire students,” he said. “Fire service is a great career. Now I get to train the next generation of firefighters. Having the truck here can change lives.”
