Boy Scouts learning about fire departments

The Kimberly Fire Station No. 1 was visited last week by the Boy Scouts of America.

But it wasn’t a run-of-the-mill Boy Scout meeting. It was a presentation of a special program called Exploring.

Exploring is an educational, hands-on program that takes young students who are interested in the Boy Scouts to different locations, such as fire and police stations, where they learn about the routines and duties of its personnel.

The purpose of Exploring is to help kids learn about potential career paths they could one day choose.

“It’s an excellent program,” said Greg Pugliess, who is the assistant fire chief at Kimberly. The department has worked with the program before.

A representative from the Boy Scouts Exploring program, Jessica Millican, spoke with station personnel and several kids about the potential opportunity.

Millican showed the youngsters a video that demonstrated routines performed by firefighters, police officers, and workers at research facilities as well as interviews with kids who previously have worked with Explorers.

An information pamphlet described the program as, “…based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth and the organizations in their communities.”

Afterward, the Boy Scouts were taken to the station and shown the fire trucks. The station’s firefighters talked to the students about everything that is involved in their jobs. Millican said she hopes to recruit at least two more kids into the program.

Exploring is for both boys and girls ages 14-20. The program also provides opportunities for students to win scholarships.

Among the organizations that make scholarships possible are AFL-CIO Skilled Trades Explorer, Capt. James T. Regan Memorial Law Enforcement Explorer, Comair Aviation Explorer, DEA Drug Abuse Prevention Service Award, International Association of Fire Chiefs Foundation, National Young American Award and many others.

The Alabama Fire College will host Explorer Weekend on Nov. 3-4, in which scouts will have a chance to watch firefighters at work.

For more information about the program, call Millican at 205-902-1577.