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Three junior fire fighters from Bellwood-Antis – Aarron Laird, Johnny Dean and Joey Whiteford – are spending their free time trying to level up in the world of fire safety.

The group started its trainings January 6 to complete Module 1-3 of their firefighter training, which includes information about fire extinguishers, ladders, and axes and halligan bars.

“At the end of Mod 3 we will be considered exterior firefighters and can do almost everything on the fire scene but going into burning buildings,” said Laird.

The young firefighters will be eligible to learn Hazmat Operations when they are 16 and by 18 can take Module 4, which would allow them to be considered an interior firefighter.

Their module classes take place Mondays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m.-10 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., which means the three students are adding 26 hours of firefighting study to their already busy school weeks.  These classes are held at the Excelsior fire hall.

Along with the Bellwood students, kids from Neptune and Hookies in Tyrone come for training too.

For Dean, it’s a chance to prepare for what he hopes will be his future career. He trains for around 30 hours a week and he’s currently on Mod 3 for the second time,  learning about hazmat awareness and do air packs and work with houseline.

“I plan on staying with Excelsior, but want to be a paid firefighter in Ocean City,” said Johnny Dean.

This program is nice for young students to get educated and have the knowledge they need to excel with their future plans of being a fire fighter.