32nd Annual California Fire Explorer Academy

The week of April 17-23 of 2006 was an exhausting yet exciting week for the 10 young men and women from post 100 that traveled to Modesto, CA for the annual academy. It was a week of early mornings, late nights and hard work in between. Immediately after arriving at the academy the explorers are divided up, among the explorers from all over the state into, divisions, battalions and companies just as in the ICS system. So right of the bat they are being trained. It doesn't take long for them to realize they aren't in Kansas any more. Throughout the week the explorers get the opportunity hear lectures and gets hands on training in many field including auto extrication, wildland, FF survival, roof operations, and the favorite.....live-fire training. Firefighters from agencies all over the state volunteered their time to come out and share some of their knowledge with the next generation of firefighters. During the last part of the week is what every explorer waits for.....The fires! On these days they get a good taste of fire behavior and conditions they will one day encounter inside a structure fire. It is hot & smokey and they feel every bit of it.











After all the training is done, comes the grand finale.....The burn down & BBQ. Everyone grabs a plate of BBQ and enjoys the show as the instructors finish off the structure that has been drilled on all week. Explorer Post 100 would like to especially thank all of the supporting agencies and instructors that made this possible and we look forward to next year.....Get Some!