Issue Date: 1/16/07
Fire Club
By Jason Dunn
For Palomar
students who want to be firefighters, there is a bridge between their fire technology classes and getting real world experience. That bridge is the Fire Club.
Potential firefighters face fierce competition pursuing firefighting careers.
"Probably for every job you have about 1,000 people waiting for it," said Carl J. Lofthouse, assistant professor of fire technology at Palomar and adviser to the Fire Club.
Lofthouse started the Fire Club in October. He said he asked students in his fire technology classes who would be interested in joining such a club.
"Everyone put their hands up," he said.
Lofthouse said the club has about 170 members.
Shawn Phillippe is the club's fire chief, which is the same as the president of a typical club.
"We have the rankings of a fire department," Phillippe said.
He said about 95 percent of the club's members want to be firefighters, paramedics, emergency technicians or work in emergency medical services. He added that the club is open to all students.
"They don't have to have any firefighting experience," Phillippe said. "They don't have to want to be a firefighter."
He said the club could give students a taste of what it's like to be in the fire service or the emergency services.
Lofthouse has used his contacts in the firefighting community to organize tours for the club, including one to the air attack base at Ramona Airport where planes for fighting forest fires are housed. They also toured the department at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar that deals with fires from crashed aircraft. Lofthouse said the techniques for fighting a crashed aircraft are different because of aviation fuel.
"It's allowing a lot of people who are going into the fire service to go out and do different things," said Autumn Mitchell, a member of the club.
Mitchell said she has made friends in the club and par-
ticipates as much as she can.
students who want to be firefighters, there is a bridge between their fire technology classes and getting real world experience. That bridge is the Fire Club.
Potential firefighters face fierce competition pursuing firefighting careers.
"Probably for every job you have about 1,000 people waiting for it," said Carl J. Lofthouse, assistant professor of fire technology at Palomar and adviser to the Fire Club.
Lofthouse started the Fire Club in October. He said he asked students in his fire technology classes who would be interested in joining such a club.
"Everyone put their hands up," he said.
Lofthouse said the club has about 170 members.
Shawn Phillippe is the club's fire chief, which is the same as the president of a typical club.
"We have the rankings of a fire department," Phillippe said.
He said about 95 percent of the club's members want to be firefighters, paramedics, emergency technicians or work in emergency medical services. He added that the club is open to all students.
"They don't have to have any firefighting experience," Phillippe said. "They don't have to want to be a firefighter."
He said the club could give students a taste of what it's like to be in the fire service or the emergency services.
Lofthouse has used his contacts in the firefighting community to organize tours for the club, including one to the air attack base at Ramona Airport where planes for fighting forest fires are housed. They also toured the department at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar that deals with fires from crashed aircraft. Lofthouse said the techniques for fighting a crashed aircraft are different because of aviation fuel.
"It's allowing a lot of people who are going into the fire service to go out and do different things," said Autumn Mitchell, a member of the club.
Mitchell said she has made friends in the club and par-
ticipates as much as she can.
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