Vashon Explorers, above, brought their year to an end with a live burn at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue last week.

Students in the Explorer program are in grades nine through 12 and meet once a week to learn the fundamentals of emergency medicine and firefighting. As part of the program, Vashon Explorers compete with other Explorers from around the region in annual “Musters” held in recent years at the state fire training facility in North Bend. They also attend the biennial ‘Stuck on Vashon,’ a two-day event at Camp Sealth, where a series of classes and drills are held to practice and hone the emergency skills learned. The last two events included a simulated earthquake, plane crash and boat explosion. Additionally, they have a chance to earn community service credits applicable toward high school graduation.

After leaving the program, several students have gone on to careers in firefighting and emergency medicine, but Vashon Island Fire & Rescue Chief Charlie Krimmert says that having those career aspirations is not necessary, as the skills acquired and information learned is simply “good stuff to know.”

Applications to join the program next fall are available now during business hours at Station 55 on Bank Road.