13 LFR recruits feel the heat in live fire training
Lincoln Fire & Rescue class includes five women, an unusually high number
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lincoln Fire & Rescue will soon have 13 new faces.
On Thursday, they completed a live fire training course, where recruits definitely felt the heat.
“There are five females in this recruiting class, which I think is amazing,” said Amanda Morgan, an LFR recruit. “We show up every day. We do just as much as the guys do. We show up and do just as much work, do the same work, and show little girls that it doesn’t matter that you’re a little female: You can do the big things, too. It’s not just a guy’s job.”
On Thursday, every recruit was able to attack the fire from each different position on the team.
“We all get that experience to learn each and every spot because when you go out on an engine or truck or even a medic unit, we’re not necessarily doing one thing,” recruit Daniel Moore said. “It’s going to rotate.”
This live training is a chance for these recruits to get a taste of what their days will look like, working together with their team and their future leaders.
“To me, all of it is my favorite part,” Moore said. “I get to work with not just my teammates, but my instructors and people with that knowledge. They really get to show me tips and tricks on things that they have learned throughout the years that I can build upon, because I’m super fresh.”
Do you ever wonder why these people choose to run toward fire and chaos as a living?
“To me, it’s a chance to give something back, but also be a part of something that is bigger than myself,” Moore said.
Morgan said she has “loved every day being here.”
“Certain days are definitely minute to minute, hour to hour, but you get to the end of the week, and you think, ‘Man, I can’t believe I did all that stuff,’ ” she said.
The fire academy is 13 weeks long.
“The pace of learning is so much, so quickly,” recruit Chris Vigil said. “You really have to be on the ball, and you have to be willing to put in the work because it is a lot of work in the academy.”
The recruits have one more week of fire training before starting six weeks at the emergency medical services academy.
“They train EMS really, really hard and really, really well here, so definitely looking forward to being a part of that top-notch response team,” Vigil said.
