Firefighter cadets to attend academy

DOWNEY - Dominic Ventura and Ismael Buenrostro, Downey residents and members of the Downey Fire Departent's explorer program, will attend the California Fire Explorer Academy in Sonoma next month. The academy, held each spring, is a statewide, week-long program designed to foster career development in the fire service for young men and women ages 16-21.

For more than 25 years, the Downey Fire Department has encouraged their explorer cadets to attend the academy and offered two personnel members to serve as mentors to the cadets.

This year's mentors are engineer Peter Browne and ambulance operator Adam Zipperian. Fire chief Lonnie Croom served as a mentor for 16 years.

Mentors work with the cadets and - on personal time - attend the week-long academy with their cadets.

The cadets will be exposed to equipment training, teamwork exercises, and wild-land and structural live-fire firefighting.

A graduation assembly closes the busy week on April 24.

********** Published: March 15, 2012 - Volume 10 - Issue 48