- April 26, 2024
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In August 2021, 23-year-old Hanna Smith decided that being a licensed massage therapist wasn’t for her after all — it was too quiet. So she set aside her degree to try something a little different: firefighter.
Thanks to a new $3,500 Open Door Grant, Smith is now in the one-semester Emergency Medical Services program at Daytona State College, which kickstarted her journey in firefighter training.
That funding was a portion of the $532,000 sum awarded to DSC this year, part of the Florida Department of Education's $35 million investment to help people become firefighters or law enforcement officers. Of the 48 DSC students in the fire training, eight received a grant, which can be used for the cost of tuition, fees, examinations, books, and materials to a student enrolled in any eligible program.
David McCallister, who started with DSC in 1990 and is now manager for the Fire Science and EMS/Paramedic program, believes that the $3,500 cost is one reason the success rate is so high: consistently 95%. The students have invested and are therefore more likely to study hard and get their money's worth. But it also could be a reason for shortages of first responders around the country.
“There's never been any money or funding for this particular class until now,” McCallister said. “ … Firefighting is off limits to a lot of people because they don’t have the money.”
Each student who joins the fire/EMS program is required to do a series of clinicals, including four ride-alongs with firefighters.
“I loved my fire rides,” recalled Smith, a New Smyrna Beach resident. “They were the best.”
She knew she had made the right switch in her career.
“All of my instructors were firefighters, and they were a great influence on joining this program,” she said, in full bunker gear, during an interview at the DSC Firefighter Training Academy, 3889 Tiger Bay Road, in Daytona Beach. “I loved the community. … My preceptors and everyone really who was in the firehouse was so accommodating, and really they push you because they know you can do your best.”
The atmosphere at the program is like family, she said.
“You spend a third of your life with these people, Smith said. “You have each other’s backs, and even being there for an hour, you can tell. Everyone’s at the kitchen table together.”
One of the tests in the program is to put on your gear, tie a knot with gloves on, haul your hose, go up a ladder and bring a test dummy out of a house. The time limit is around 4 minutes, and Smith’s first attempt took more than 9 minutes.
“I was really discouraged,” she recalled.
But, after more practice, she recently completed the exercise in 3 minutes, 30 seconds.
“This program is not given to you,” Smith said, “it is earned. You’ve got to dig deep.”
Michael Giordano, who recently moved to Ormond Beach, is also a student in the Firefighter Training Academy says, “If you're interested in the field do it. Make a change, get out there and be productive. Know that your body is not gonna quit before your mind.”
The firefighters-in-training finish on May 1.
For more information on the grant opportunity, contact DSC’s Financial Aid Office at [email protected] or 386-506-3015.
