13-year-old Adrian De La Cruz is dressed in full fire fighter gear and is rappelling from 30ft down the side of a tower here at the Ventura County Fire Departments training center - in front of his parents.
De La Cruz says that the exercise he's practicing is used, in real life, by firefighters when they are on rescue missions - and confesses that he was "having fun."
Friday is his graduation from Ventura County Fire department’s Junior Fire Academy, a free one week long camp.
His mom Anna De La Cruz proudly watched his descent.
"He actually is afraid of heights," she said. "And to hear that they chose this activity. It blew my mind that he actually said, 'I'm going to do this, mom.' "
She says that she was responsible for signing him up to take part in the academy.
"I wanted him to be open to different opportunities out there. And I've heard really great things about the Ventura County Fire Department. So I said, 'let's get you into this'. And he's always up for a challenge," she said.
From rappel operations like this to structure and brush fire suppression to basic first aid and hands-only CPR, the in-depth sessions are taught by the county’s fire fighters.
"I think this is a perfect example, watching them come down the tower, because I think for anybody...heights is kind of a naturally uneasy feeling," says Spencer White, a firefighter who also runs the Junior Fire Academy.
"We see that from day one, watching them get on this tower, you can see the uncomfortableness even as they walk up it. So watching them rappel on Friday is just a really good reminder of like, this is the result of what we're doing is just more confident young people. And that's what we're trying to create with the program is just more skilled, more confident young people to go out in the world and find out what they want to do," said White.
It’s Preston Murphy’s turn to hang off the tower.
"I went off a tower and I waved halfway and then went back down. It wasn't that scary," says Murphy.
Murphy says he would like a future career as an EMT or hotshot, or a as part of the helicopter rescue team.
His dad John was watching from the safety of the ground below.
"We're just so proud of him. He's been a little daredevil his whole life," said John Murphy.
Having conquered the rappel, it’s on to the next task. The youngsters run - in their full gear - shoveling sand onto a grass fire to extinguish it.
The week-long training camps are empowering, says the Captain Brian McGrath.
"We're trying to empower these young adults that they can do these things. They can step in and save a life. They can put fires out, they can rappelled down a building and it gives them the empowerment that, hey, I can do things that you were never thought they would have done. And so it gives them some structure and some courage to do things that they wouldn't never normally do."
It’s hoped this might even inspire the next generation into a career in the fire department.
