Page 8 - Mid Valley Times 8-15-19 E-edition

Sanger
Continued from A7
Fire Explorer Program applies to those between 14 and 21 and is meant to help participants learn the job of a firefighter and “provide experiences to help young people mature and prepare them to be responsible and caring adults.”
Carrillo said that last year he spoke to one of the explorers, James Lopez, “and he got me convinced.” He said he plans to serve another four years.
“I learned new techniques,” Carrillo said. “How to hold a hose, use a ladder. I love doing this.”
Sanger’s firefighters had Carrillo holding the fire hose just in case a problem arose as they dismantled an older Saturn with specialty hydraulic tools, sometimes called the jaws of life, and other equipment. Carrillo was decked out in turnout jacket and pants and helmet.
The rescue demonstration capped the evening and involved a crew of firefighters opening up the very raggedy Saturn. They started with the doors and then ripped off the roof after having taken out the glass with various implements.
It didn’t take long.
Fire Capt. Todd Wilson explained to the crowd that the hydraulic mechanism uses “the force of 32,000 pounds” and comes in really handy
Mike Nemeth / Mid Valley Times Xavier Currillo helps out as firefighters wreck a Saturn
sedan Aug. 6.
to rescue people trapped in cars. “As you can see, it doesn’t take very long,” he said.
As the firefighters did their work on the doomed car, a couple of veteran firefighters standing behind the crowd talked about calls that they responded to back before the advent of
preferred the new equipment.
Paige Benavides, who routinely wows audiences at Life Tabernacle on Swan Avenue, sang the National Anthem that night.
City manager Tim Chapa told the audience near the start of the event and after Benavides performed that in light of mass shootings in Gilroy, El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, residents ought to consider “recognizing our safety officers. We have great firefighters, paramedics and police officers here. Take the time to talk to them.”
Police chief Silver Rodriguez said that across the country that night “there are
Mike Nemeth / Mid Valley Times
This Night Out was the first for siblings Elizabeth and Vic- tor Rodriguez. The pair went from table to table.
her time as an explorer proved valuable.
“With all the training you receive, once you’re in the academy you have that mentality of an officer already,” she said. “About what needs to be done going on a call. You need to stay focused on what your job is.”
Trevino vouched for her. “I’m very proud of her,” she said of Esqueda. “She’s one of my favorite students.”
Chief Rodriguez later that evening spotted Darth Vader and two storm troopers in the park. They looked like they may have been on official business from the Empire. He promptly walked up and whispered something only they could hear through their helmets. “I told them they were all under arrest,” he said.
He was kidding but didn’t initially know how they took the joke. “I couldn’t see their facial expressions,” he said. And they didn’t say anything.
Vader doesn’t take kindly to conflict, apparently.
Carrillo said he plans to enroll in Sanger High’s Pathways program that emphasizes firefighter training. His friend Charles Weaver said he was considering the program, too. But not for firefighting. “More like sports health physiology,” he said.
The reporter can be contacted by email at nemethfeatures@ gmail.com or at (559) 875-2511.
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Thursday, August 15, 2019
| A8 |
Mid Valley TiMes
Sanger Officer Cynthia Trevino gets a hug from a very small fan at Sanger Park.
the technology. In the past, they said they used hacksaws and lubricants to extricate people trapped in crashed vehicles. It took longer and was effective but both
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Administrative Capt. Greg DuPuis said the night was one of his fire department’s favorite of the year. “Have a fun night,” he said after inviting everybody to stay for the jaws of life
one of her visits to Washington Academic Middle School. Trevino was at a nearby booth talking to young people and her husband visited with her baby girl.
“It’s our first year,” Elizabeth said.
“We came with our mom,” Victor said.
With Trevino was police explorer Briana Esqueda. She said she’s been with the program four years. “It’s a great program especially if you’re interested in law enforcement,” she said.
And Esqueda, who graduated from Sanger High in 2016, is interested in law enforcement. But there’s a catch. She said she was to ship out with the Marines in a week. Her job will be motor transport and repair operator.
Esqueda said her long-term plan is to serve in the military 20 years with eight of those in the reserves. She said she plans to enter the police academy upon her return and become a police officer. She said
Mike Nemeth / Mid Valley Times
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