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FARMINGTON – Foster Technology Center wastes nothing. Especially opportunities.
The vocational school is currently operating out of the old Franklin Shoe facility on High Street, as construction for the Mt. Blue Learning Campus project begins in earnest later this year. Rather than use contractors and architects, Foster Tech used students. Rob Olsen’s Metal Fabrication class built the welding booths. Sean Minear’s Culinary Arts class set up the new kitchen. Computer Technology instructor Richard Wilde wired the facility and continues to fix digital glitches. In each case, students put their knowledge and training to practical uses.
Therefore, there should be no question as to who conducts the fire drills around here.
Thursday morning, students heard the bleating of alarms and moved toward exits. Once outside, instead of Farmington Fire Department personnel, they found multiple engines, piles of equipment and some of their classmates, in full turnout gear. Foster Tech students were there to clear the building.
The firefighting program owes its existence to the surrounding towns’ volunteer departments. Each student must find a firefighter in a local department to sponsor them, prior to appearing before the admissions panel. That firefighter then acts as a mentor for the student, assessing their progress in the course. The turnout gear the students wear is loaned to them by local departments, resulting in a variety of different colors and designs among the class.
“The class works in a good, cooperative, community type of environment,” Foster Tech Center Director Glenn Kapiloff said. He credited Churchill and local volunteer departments, as well as Farmington Fire Rescue’s Chief Terry Bell and Deputy Chief Clyde Ross for making the program work.
Students have their own truck, an engine that was going to be scrapped by a department in East Landsdowne, PA, when it was located by Bell.
Having the class conduct the drill; searching the darkened rooms, communicating with radios and evacuating a few stragglers, is good for both the firefighters and other students, according to program instructor John Churchill.
“It’s a fantastic experience for them,” Churchill said, watching his class assemble near their truck, “and it’s also a fantastic experience for the students.”
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Foster tech certainly does a good job. We need a strong tech school in our area, AND WE HAVE ONE!
That girl in the final picture, front, is my daughter Jessica. She is the second of my two girls to take the FF I & II class at Foster Tech. This is an exceptional class, not only for the students, but for the communities from which they hail. Every student who completes this course is an asset to thier own local fire departments. I am proud to be the parent of Foster Tech students, Danielle Leclerc, calss of ’99 and her younger sister Jessica, class of ’11.
The foster tech firefighter group is a great group. They all consider each other family. This year there was a turn out of more girls they guys. But with more girls, comes more drama. With all things set aside, this group of high school students is a fine crowd, and without a doubt.. a family.