BY KARISSA MILLER
Career Academy and Technical School Fire Instructor Mark Brown believes that social media has the ability to create positive outcomes, including helping train the next generation of firefighters.
In a post shared on his personal Facebook page on Friday, Brown asked his friends if anyone had a firetruck that could be donated to the fire program at CATS.
“I put the post up at 7 p.m. and got a response around 9 p.m.,” Brown recalled. “I was surprised it happened so fast.”
Carl Walker, who is the chief at Piney Grove Fire and Rescue in Forsyth County, saw the post and picked up the phone and called Brown.
“I happen to know Mark and a Facebook post put us together. It just happened to work out and hopefully we will be replacing it,” Walker said.
According to Walker, the Piney Grove Fire Department purchased the truck new in 1992 for $206,000.
Exposing students at an early age to the idea of following a path toward becoming a firefighter “helps them see that it could be a worthwhile career,” he said.
Walked mentioned that there is an insufficient number of trained volunteer firefighters and EMS workers in society as a whole. In Forsyth County, he said, there are similar programs and students have trucks that they can use to develop their skills.
“This is a great way to keep the CATS programs going and keep interest in firefighting,” he said.
On Monday afternoon, Walker drove more than an hour to deliver the fire truck to Brown. He also had a chance to meet some of the students and receive a personal tour of the CATS campus led by Principal Larry Rogers.
“I’m very grateful to Piney Grove for their donation. It will help our students to be fully trained on up-to-date equipment and better prepare them for the workforce,” Rogers said.
The truck will be used to help teach the next generation of firefighters.
“The vehicle we have now is an early 1970s model. It has served us well, but unfortunately time has outpaced it,” Brown said.
Cross lays (a hose line that is set up on the truck), a four-door enclosed cab and other features provide a lot more versatility than CATS’ old truck, he added.
“I’m just ecstatic that Piney Grove donated this to us. Our students are very excited and they haven’t had the chance to play with it yet,” he said.
The fire technology program has been around since 2010 and has made an impact on students’ lives. School officials said that participating students have gone on to work with fire departments in the area.
“This will help us practice our skills in the modern age and replace outdated equipment and bring us up to the times,” said student John Hinson.
“Fire service is a brotherhood and sisterhood. This is an example of one of the fire departments taking care of another fire department,” added student Jacob Seyler-Schmidt.
