At-risk teens in California recently displayed the skills they learned in a nine-week program that taught them what it's like to be a firefighter.
The training was provided by the Sacramento Regional Firefighter Youth Academy, a joint venture between Solutions For At Risk Youth, Sacramento-area fire departments, community-based groups and local school districts, KCRA-TV reports. Along with learning firefighting skills, the high-schoolers also are given career and life guidance.
"We know they have what it takes. They just need a little push in the right direction, a little guidance," Byron Bethel, a retired fire captain who is now CEO for Solutions For At Risk Youth, told KCRA.
The teens dressed in full fire gear and performed ground activities with tools and apparatus, according to the TV station.
