[0:00] Beyond the Badge is brought to you by [0:02] the Edina Crime Prevention Fund. [0:18] Showed up to the station about 6:30. [0:21] [Music] [0:23] Got all my gear set up on my ambulance [0:26] today. [0:29] [Music] [0:30] Make sure there's no damage. Make sure [0:32] all the lights are working. [0:35] My name is Nick Febs. I am a fire cadet. [0:38] Been an EMS for 5 years, fire service [0:41] for just shy of one year. And this gives [0:45] us all of our checks to uh make sure [0:46] that the ambulance is ready for service [0:49] for the day. [0:49] My name is Sean White. I'm the assistant [0:51] chief that oversees training EMS for the [0:54] Adina Fire Department. Uh I've been uh [0:56] with the city of Vidina for 18 years [0:58] now. I've had the honor of working in uh [1:01] the majority of the positions on shift. [1:03] Uh started my career as a paramedic [1:04] firefighter. I drove the engine for a [1:07] number of years. I was a captain on [1:08] shift. I believe that over time I've [1:10] seen a significant change. There's an [1:12] increase in request demand expectations [1:16] out of employees because of that. That [1:18] pool that used to be uh the perfect size [1:21] to be able to draw from is now [1:24] approximately the same size, but more [1:26] people want uh some of those personnel. [1:33] In California, I was a firefighter. I [1:36] went through the traditional fire [1:37] academy, served at my uh community [1:40] college. I jumped on a department there [1:42] locally in Los Angeles County. I came [1:45] into this department and was unaware [1:47] that I was short of one certification [1:51] which landed me into a fire cadet spot. [1:54] The cadet program is something that we [1:56] have been looking at in the past. We've [1:58] been discussing and then Nick came [1:59] along. Nick was a perfect candidate for [2:02] this process because he had had some [2:05] good experience. He had most of the [2:06] certifications. It was just because of [2:08] where he transplanted from. They didn't [2:11] have the same box check requirements [2:13] there. And so we had to do a firefighter [2:16] 2 certification. Our ideal situation is [2:18] we go out and we find somebody with all [2:21] the certifications, lensure, training, [2:22] experience. But there's always going to [2:24] be the reality that we're not going to [2:26] be able to get that every time we want [2:28] to hire somebody. So there's going to be [2:30] tears as we go along. And that cadet [2:31] process is going to give us the most [2:33] valuable and utilizable pathway to get [2:37] where we need to go. When we get down [2:38] there, we'll go over a little brief on [2:40] what we're going to do, but let's just [2:41] get our gear, get some extra bottles. [2:43] [Music] [2:50] [Music] [2:53] We're at the South Metro uh training [2:55] facility here in town. Today, we're [2:57] doing some simulation runs of fire [2:58] attack, running through like three, four [3:01] different scenarios. [3:04] One that we're working on right now is [3:05] our horizontal standpipe operation. So, [3:07] it's establishing a water line through a [3:09] second story or even greater than that. [3:13] Me as a cadet, I would be in the back of [3:14] the engine, fully geared up in turnouts. [3:21] From there, we have an apartment bundle, [3:23] it's called, goes on our back. It's all [3:25] dry hose. We bring that up through the [3:27] window through the ladder. [3:32] [Music] [3:40] We're gaining access through uh the east [3:42] side, but the fire is on the west side [3:44] of the building. So, we're progressing [3:46] through that building all on the second [3:48] story and then attacking the fire. [3:50] We definitely spend at least half of our [3:52] time during the academy process when [3:54] we're on boarding new people down at the [3:56] training facility. [3:57] [Music] [4:01] This training is extremely valuable. [4:03] First of all, you don't know when a fire [4:05] is going to happen. Whether it's, you [4:07] know, middle of the day when you're up [4:08] and awake, you're, you know, you've had [4:10] food in you, or on the opposite end, it [4:12] could be at 3:00 in the morning when [4:14] you're half asleep. So, going through [4:16] the evolutions, getting your hands on [4:18] the equipment, running through [4:19] scenarios, you know, feeling what it's [4:21] like to be on your mask. [4:23] [Music] [4:27] Those are things that you have to work [4:28] through training to become comfortable [4:30] with. And it's scenarios like this that [4:32] allow us to work effectively uh when it [4:35] really matters. [4:44] So they say I think about a third of [4:46] your lifetime is spent in the station. [4:48] My shifts have been 12 hours. When I [4:51] look at it, it feels like I'm here quite [4:52] often. [4:54] But I believe we're now transitioning [4:56] into me being a part of a shift as a [4:58] 24-hour shift. [5:00] He still participated in a three-week [5:02] academy. He then started working with [5:04] our shift with a multiple multiple [5:07] different crews. And that allowed him to [5:08] get better exposure, wider breadth of [5:11] kind of knowledge and understanding. The [5:13] very beginning of it, they're focused on [5:15] getting uh comfortable with their shift [5:17] mates, uh the layout, the configuration. [5:20] Honestly, what happens? What do the [5:21] tones sound like? Where do the trucks [5:23] go? Those types of things. [5:26] Fire. [5:27] [Music] [5:33] I think the benefit of staying with the [5:36] uh cadet program is what allows us to do [5:38] is focus on the people instead of just [5:41] the boxes that need to be checked. [5:46] [Music] [5:49] We're looking for great people who fit [5:53] with our values systems and can go out [5:57] and do the work. We can teach them to [5:59] technicalities and the specifics. It's [6:02] much harder to to train somebody to have [6:05] great morals, ethics, relationships, uh [6:08] interaction, and public support. [6:12] [Music] [6:15] The resources here, the people that work [6:17] here, they truly want you to succeed and [6:20] they'll do anything and everything to [6:22] make sure that your tasks get completed. [6:25] Every single thing has been done to make [6:28] sure that I complete that task and [6:30] become a firefighter paramedic. [6:33] [Music] [6:35] Because we run a fire medic service, we [6:38] have distinctly different jobs that [6:40] cross over on a regular basis. So there [6:43] are days that you need to spend focused [6:46] on your paramedic skills and working on [6:47] the ambulance. But very quickly, you can [6:50] clear a hospital on that call and then [6:52] go into firefighting mode. [6:55] Really when I think about this program, [6:57] uh my vision for the long term is really [7:00] about building out uh an opportunity to [7:03] grow people within the community, find [7:06] people who share our values, [7:08] professionalism, and passion for the [7:10] work, maybe even if they don't have the [7:12] education and technical background. [7:16] [Music] [7:20] So Nick was hired as the first fire [7:22] cadet piloting our cadet program and [7:25] today uh he'll be badged a paramedic [7:27] firefighter completing the transition [7:29] through cadet all the way to paramedic [7:31] firefighter. [7:33] Receiving that badge uh is really the [7:36] culmination of all the effort that it [7:38] took you to go to school, get trained, [7:42] go through different opportunities, and [7:43] finally you're at a a career department [7:46] like this. [7:47] So, it's been a long journey to get to [7:49] this point, but all the hard work, [7:51] dedication, the sleepless nights have [7:53] gotten us to this point where I can now [7:55] officially call myself a firefighter [7:57] paramedic. [8:00] You are now here. You are one of us and [8:03] here to serve. [8:08] [Music] [8:13] [Music]