FARMINGDALE — Keegan Bellerose said the best part of being a junior firefighter is the adrenaline rush.
His friend and fellow Farmingdale junior firefighter, Aidan Beale, agrees.
Earlier this month, the two 16-year-olds received their Firefighter 1 and Firefighter 2 certifications under the national ProBoard curriculum. With that accomplishment, earned through Capital Area Technical Center, they can work at any fire station in the country once they turn 18. But the two boys want to stay in Farmingdale, at the station where they’ve helped out at since they were 13 years 0ld.
“My dad is a captain for Farmingdale, I think that was a big part of it,” said Beale on how firefighting piqued his interest. “I’ve been going to the station since I was tiny, and every once in a while, I would go on calls with them and sit in the truck and watch what happens.”
Once they were eligible for the CATC certification at 16, they signed up for the class along with their friend Zakkary Roy. The three boys will be juniors at Hall-Dale High School next year. Connor Harding from Monmouth was also part of the CATC class.
Even though they now possess professional certifications, they’re still considered junior firefighters as long as they’re under 18. The boys can not go into situations considered hazardous, like a burning building; nor may they direct traffic. But they can help plenty within the station. For instance, they can move equipment and check the trucks.
Mike LaPlante, Farmingdale’s Deputy Chief, is thrilled the boys took the class. “Once they hit their 18th birthdays, they’ll be good to go and (we’ll have) three more well-trained additions to the Farmingdale Fire Department,” he said, calling them “good kids.”
Rick Johnson was the boys’ instructor at Capital Area Technical Center. He said it’s difficult to get young people to consider firefighting as a career, probably because “people are getting used to doing things electronically, rather than hands-on.”
Farmingdale firefighters Zakkary Roy, 17, left, Keegan Bellerose, 16, center, and Aidan Beale, 16, pictured with their officers Michael LaPlante, right, Julian Beale, second from right, and Doug Ebert during a ceremony Tuesday, Aug. 10 at the Farmingdale station to celebrate the teenagers’ new firefighting credentials. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal
For 25 years, Johnson was a firefighter in Rockland, and before that, an EMS for Camden First Aid. He started teaching at CATC in 2019.
CATC’s classes are free, but the fire program requires another form of investment from those who enroll: two hours of instruction every school day, for every participating pupil, year-round. “Being a junior (firefighter), I had to make sure my classes and my homework were done before I went to the station or before I went to a call,” Beale said.
Johnson, along with the Chief Deputies of the Farmingdale and Monmouth stations, surprised the boys with a party after the certifications came through. “We wanted to make it a big deal because they are big assets to the fire station,” said Johnson.
Beale called it his “most exciting day yet.”
He has a unique advantage in that he works with his father, he said. “He’s told me I don’t have to follow it, but I enjoy doing the same thing he does,” Beale said. “He’s happy we are doing it together. It’s nice because after, we can talk about it more and (discuss) what we did right, or what we can do differently.”
Johnson wants to spread the word about the program and said that this fall, he will also offer an EMS class, similar to the firefighting class, that Bellerose will take next year.
Bellerose can’t wait until he turns 18. “As a junior, you can’t do a whole lot,” he said. “Once I turn 18, I’ll be inside a burning building.”
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