Fire Fighting recruits in Prince George
By George Maratos, Fire Information Officer, Prince George

This year, the Prince George-based Northern Initial Fire Attack Crew welcomed three local high school graduates as recruits for the summer. Natasha Letchford, Geoff Duck and Lyndsey Rosevear learned about the ministry’s summer employment program through their high school career preparation programs.

"We were told that the job was going to involve a lot of hard work and possibly long days," said Lyndsey. "So having a background playing sports helped out a lot in getting hired."

Each recruit excels at academics and sports. Lyndsey is an honours graduate of College Heights Secondary School, where she was recently the runner-up for the "Youth of the Year" award.

Natasha won academic honours at Duchess Park Secondary and recently played on the under-19 women’s provincial soccer team.

Geoff, an honours student at Kelly Road Secondary, was also a member of the Prince George select team that won the provincial under-19 soccer championship.

"This job is ideal for someone like me who plans to go to university," Geoff said. "You work with great people, make good money and you’re doing something that is very rewarding."

The students began basic training on July 4th, learning zone orientation, fire terminology and basic techniques.

In mid-summer, their enthusiasm remained high.

"I love this job," Lyndsey said. "I think it’s great that each day brings a new experience and new life skills that will better prepare me for the future."

www.for.gov.bc.ca/protect