Video by Jessica Goldberg
In a city that receives less than eight inches of rain per year, firefighters are a necessity. But with a tight budget and a three-year hiring freeze, the Phoenix Fire Department can use as much help as it can get.
That’s where the department’s cadet program comes in. Young adults participating in a three-month training program provide more than $250,000 a year of volunteered service for the department. Every three months a new class is chosen, and this January a new group of students will go through training at the fire department’s training facility on 2425 West Lower Buckeye Road.
The program is designed to acquaint those interested in being a firefighter with the fire department. The cadets are important to the department and the city because they save money. Cadets are required to volunteer at least 32 hours of service per quarter through helping at special events and other activities.
“The cadets put in a lot of work and effort,” Captain and Program Manager Darrell Wiseman said. “The city is stringent with monitoring our overtime given the economy. The cadets are a free way to help make up for the loss of overtime hours.”
In 2008, the fire department instituted a hiring freeze that lasted through 2010, but a Federal Safer Grant for $6.8 million allowed the department to begin hiring again in 2011. Starting in 2013, the cost of the new jobs will fall on the fire department again.
Now, cadets participate in the program with the hope that it can lead to a permanent position.
Balancing a dream
Two years ago, exercise and wellness junior Joey Bachman decided to apply for the cadet program. Now, he helps train new cadets, serving as assistant chief of training.
“It’s like trying to teach someone to throw a baseball when you’ve done it for years,” he said. “Sometimes I want to do it for them, but I can’t. I’m here to help foster their learning.”
Bachman, a native of Phoenix, was first introduced to the department when he was four. He remembers his parents taking him to an open firehouse and sitting on a truck with a little helmet. It wasn’t until high school that he realized he wanted to fight fires as a profession after meeting a cadet who convinced him to apply for the program.
“I saw (the fire department) as a place I could bring my family values,” he said. “It’s like a family here in this program. We’re like siblings. There’s camaraderie between us.”
His biological family has been supportive, although his mother took some time to convince, Bachman said.
“Once she realized how enthused I was about it, she supported me,” he added. “They see it as an honorable thing. They like to brag about me to coworkers. I’m like, ‘I haven’t even made it yet.’”
Bachman continues on with school because he hopes that in his spare time as a firefighter or later in life he can enter into a public health career.
“Higher education is important,” he said. “My parents instilled in me to always further myself. Firefighters are always learning, always have to be challenged mentally.”
Bachman especially likes the feel of the Downtown campus.
“Downtown focuses on more progressive fields,” he said. “It’s unique because you’re in an atmosphere where everything is moving fast. The community down here is closer. I wasn’t expecting it. Sometimes with downtown there’s a negative perception. But ASU is improving the public image. It’s amazing.”
Bachman hopes to join the Phoenix Fire Department as a firefighter. Until that point, the 21-year-old assistant chief of training plans to continue helping with the program and honing his skills while furthering his education.
“My upbringing and family, they taught me that there was a purpose for me,” Bachman said. “This career — it’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s the perfect fit for me. I know if I work hard, it will be worth it in the end.”
Mimicking real life situations
The cadets meet twice a month, every other Monday. Each meeting starts with the group together in a room talking about ride-alongs they went on with practicing firefighters. Cadets with more experience are allowed to tag along with real firefighters for a period of time and watch how things are done. They are never allowed to fight fires but can assist inside the firetrucks and stations.
Then they split into two groups, the new cadets who do basic training and another group called Special Ops. This group puts their basic skills to use in set-up situations.
A model cement and gray brick building is toward the back of the training facility. The mock home is covered in soot and inside most of the rooms are empty with the exception of a few couches. Hidden inside are two 180-pound dummies for the cadets to rescue.
Groups of four to six take turns riding in a firetruck around the lot and jumping out to attach a hose to a hydrant and running into the building to find the fake victims.
The building is dark inside and smells like damp soot. Cadets participating in the rescue crawl on the floor. They climb over couches with the hose and occasionally shout “Par 1” through “Par 4” to keep track of each other.
Cadet Capt. Corey Whigham, 20, currently works as an EMT for a casino. He joined the program three and a half years ago to get experience.
“This doesn’t guarantee you a job,” he said. “You get what you put into it. This can make or break you.”
Whigham added that reputation is everything in the department.
“Our reputation starts immediately when you get into the program,” he continued. “If you do something bad you’re going to get a bad rep. You have to watch your back with what you do.”
An unknown future
Sixteen words are written along the meeting room’s wall.
Duty. Honor. Discipline. Brotherhood. Humility. Teamwork. Perseverance. Strength. Tradition. Excellence. Pride. Integrity. Respect. Loyalty. Dedication. Courage.
Wiseman was a cadet in the 1980s. He lets the senior cadets lead but is always present in case he is needed. He encourages the cadets to confide in him if they have any problems with the program or their ride-alongs.
“If you ever have a bad experience, go to your mentors,” he said. “Approach senior staff and of course you’re more than welcome to come to me. Sometimes you all get scared by the C on my chest.”
He understands the difficulties these cadets face when on ride-alongs because he was there.
“You’re the next firefighters,” Wiseman said. “They don’t always see that out there. If you say you can do something, we’re going to call you on it. If you don’t have thick skin you’re going to have to get used to it. That’s our world — that’s our culture.”
Although the life of a firefighter can be hard, going through the cadet program is worth it, he said.
Competition is high for those few available spots in the department. But for cadets like Bachman, it’s worth the wait.
“If an opportunity comes for me to join before school is over, I’ll do it,” Joey said. “This is what I love doing. It’s something I want so bad.”
Contact the reporter at dmillar@asu.edu
