BRICK – This year’s week-long fire camp, hosted by Brick Fire Academy, teaches the next generation of fire fighters how to start their journey.
Everyone knows the summer gets hot. But a few select kids from Brick got to feel how hot it can get.
From July 13 through July 17, a group of teens and pre-teens participated in the annual Fire Camp, organized by the Brick Fire Safety Bureau and Training Center. This was the 5th year of the camp, focusing on showing students what it’s like to start a career in firefighting.
Aubrey Borden, Assistant Fire Marshall of Brick Township Bureau of Fire Safety, spoke about what the bureau and the fire department does for the camp.
“We collectively work on the Fire Academy camp for kids that are located in Brick,” she said. “We plan in the background what that week looks like.”
Once the kids are dropped off at the facility, they will start in the classroom first, Borden said. There, the students will learn about the history of the fire service. Next, the State Division of Fire Safety will do a K9 demonstration and then a display of how a fire sprinkler system works.
The 26 students will then go into the field to learn hands on what it’s like to fight fires.
Borden said the students will learn what the founding members wanted this program to become. “I think that before my time, the vision for this camp was to promote volunteerism,” she said. “Most fire departments in the nation are still volunteer. Brick’s fire departments are all volunteer, so the idea was to get kids interested. Community engagement and fire prevention is a lot of what we do at the bureau of fire safety.”
The Brick Township Fire Commissioners, the three fire districts, and the chief, are the people Borden would thank for having the fire camp come together.
Kevin Batzel, Chief of Fire Safety in Brick Township, spoke about how this year’s program was much anticipated by the residents. “Early in the year, we put out a feeler, to see who’s interested in the camp and we got an overwhelming response of people that want to come back,” he said. “This year they’re all new (the participants); but we’ve had some come back 2-3 years at a time and learn different things every time.”
Students at the Fire Camp ranged in ages 12-16.
Batzel said the kids will learn a variety of different skills and tasks that could get them introduced into the job of firefighting. “Today (Day 1), were going to light up the fire pit. It’s a propane fired fire pit at our Brick Township Fire Training Center,” he said. “We also have a car fire simulator which simulates car fires, for the kids.”
The fire pit Batzel referred to is a large rock covered flat pit that can be ignited from underneath. This was used to display how fast and massive a fire can be. The kids got a chance to feel exactly how hot a fire can become while standing at least 50 feet from the front while taking a group photo. Most of the students were in awe of the temperature.
The car fire simulator was one of the four popular sites the kids had a chance to participate at. Once the prop car was set ablaze, each student got a chance to hold a fire hose to douse the flames; all with the help of a highly trained fire fighter carefully assisting. A three-story building is also located on the property. This is used to teach fire fighters how to enter an engulfed building from the ladder truck.
Batzel said that the students will get to participate in four stations on their first day. In addition to the prop car fire simulator, the students will take a ride in a ladder truck and go into the “burn building,” and next to a “darkened maze” with floors and crevices that simulates a lot of the activities the fire department comes across all the time. This station also had a table set up by the New Jersey State Police Hazardous Materials and Berkeley HAZ-MAT to show the students some of the equipment they use daily. Hazardous Materials is new this year for the Fire Camp.
Day 2 was scheduled to be a “water day” at Traders Cove. “We have boats from Brick and Toms River. We’re going to do dive team activities; a lot of that has been going on lately,” said Batzel, referring to boat and kayak accidents in the area. The mayor of Brick was also scheduled to be joining the students on the second day to witness the training.
Day 3 at the Training Center on Herbertsville Road featured EMS procedures. “The Fire Department supports EMS in every way, shape, and form” said Batzel, referring to the all-day EMS training the students will partake in. Things like CPR, basic wound treatment, etc., will be the focus.
On Day 4 the students learned from the professionals of the State Police with training from the State Police US&R (Urban Search and Rescue). This group responds to tragedies like floods and widespread fires throughout the state and country, so the students can get a feeling of how vital it is to control fires before they become devastating.
Day 5 is graduation day at Pioneer Fire House located at 312 Drum Point Road. “We’re going to do a full graduation with them (students). We’ll break the kids into groups. They’ll learn comradery; they’ll learn how to work together as a team,” said Batzel.
When asked who he wanted to thank for making the program possible, Batzel spoke about the volunteers. “I so appreciate the help of all our volunteers. For a volunteer department, we run a lot of fire calls. Everybody comes out here and helps from all our fire companies. The satisfaction you get from helping people, and helping our community, is what we’re all about.”
To learn more about the Fire Camp, any of the fire districts, or about volunteering for the fire department, please visit: brickfire.org or visit their Facebook page to see photos from the Fire Camp: facebook.com/BrickTownshipFireDepartment. Next year’s Fire Camp will be accepting applications starting in the springtime of 2027.
The training center is located at 500 Herbertsville Road in Brick and is one of three state-approved fire training facilities in Ocean County, according to their website. The facility is owned and operated by the Joint Board of Fire Commissioners.
