Fourth Graders Play Firefighters for Week

Fifteen Burleson fourth graders are spending their first week of summer break suited up and ready to fight fires. But they won't be fighting any real fires -- the kids are going through the city's Junior Fire Academy.

The work of firefighters seems fun to the students, but oftentimes firefighters pull up to find dangerous and grueling situations. And that's what the kids are learning firsthand in full uniform.

"I think it'd be pretty cool to do, getting to save people's lives, getting to do all that fun stuff," said Daniel Porson, 9, whose father is a Fort Worth firefighter. "You know how everybody calls heroes, capes, masks, all that. Sometimes they're just in helmets like my dad."

The children are finding out just how hot it is to wear the uniforms, and theirs are just lightweight costume versions.

The kids get to see firefighters in full safety gear, including glasses, helmets, and gloves, as they work to free someone from a wrecked car in a demonstration. The junior firefighters get to see the different tools firefighters use, like the Jaws of Life and the Halligan bar.

"I feel like we're a real fire team and get to do stuff," said Jaiden Littlejohn, 10. "Really important to save somebody's life."

"It's neat to watch these kids come through and to really see how they're starting to think that they might really want to do this job," said engineer Scott Johns, of the Burleson Fire Department.

At the end of the day, they take off their uniforms, ready to return tomorrow.

The Junior Fire Academy runs through Thursday. The Burleson Fire Department holds it every year. It's free to sign up.

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