The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) presented a check of $24,525 to the Kewaunee County Junior Firefighter Program at NWTC in Green Bay, October 28, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A state grant is fueling the future of firefighting in Wisconsin’s youth.
The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) presented a check of $24,525 to the Kewaunee County Junior Firefighter Program Monday.
The grant will help fund a youth firefighter program taught by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College instructors. NTWC will use the money to purchase additional equipment and transportation needs for high school students to get to and from trainings.
In the program students will take NWTC’s Entry Level Firefighter course. Once the Entry Level course is complete, students can begin limited participation in fire calls with a department.
Dan Hereth, Secretary of the Department of Safety and Professional Services, says volunteer firefighters make up more than 70% of firefighters in Wisconsin and there’s currently a shortage.
The grant will help students who are 17 and 18-years-old, get experience in the field earlier, resulting in more volunteers.
“In Wisconsin the average age of getting married and having a family of your own is roughly 28, 29-years-old, so you can kind of see real quickly, I have time to volunteer for a couple years, I get trained up and then my priorities might shift so if we can get our students engaged in this work that much sooner, maybe they find a career in it, which is wonderful and even if they don’t, it means there’s that there’s that many more years they’re able to give back to their communities.”
The grant will benefit high school students from four different school districts: Algoma, Kewaunee, Luxemburg-Casco, and Denmark.
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