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High School Fire Science Class

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Portola High School Fire Science Class
Igniting passions in the classroom and blazing trails for careers in Wildland Firefighting and Fuels Management

Thirty years ago, Brad Miller, the current Fire Science Teacher at Portola High School, was sitting behind a desk at Quincy High School, taking a similar course to the one he now teaches. During his time at QHS, he was able to take a Fire Science course that launched him into Wildland Firefighting. Right after graduating he joined an Engine Crew. He stayed with the Forest Service for about 10 summers while he went to college and continued after he got his teaching credential. He started teaching at Portola High School in 1991 and in 1993 became the Fire Science teacher until the course was …show more content…

Additionally, during the 32 hours of in-class instruction, the class was able to get outside to get some hands-on experience. One of these such experiences is helping a current Fire Crew with a prescribed fire, which this year 's class will do at the end of May.

The final field day is the second required piece to becoming certified, followed by a final written examination. This year the PHS fire field day took place at Ross Meadows outside of Portola, CA on May 4th. Twenty of the 25 students in class were present. The field day not only tested student’s skills and physical abilities but it also challenged their mental stamina. After spending half of the day rotating through weather testing, firing devices, and mobile attack stations, the 20 students were tasked with cutting line up a steep hillside for half a mile. Two-hundred yards from the top, after complete exhaustion had taken over, they were ordered to run the rest of the way up to deploy a practice fire shelter. They were pushed to the max as they fought their way to the finish line. Some students fell behind, while others, determined to surpass their limits and past the pain, made it to the top in six minutes. Two

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