Students at Piedmont High School are getting the opportunity of a lifetime – a chance to participate in a new program sponsored by the Piedmont Fire Department.

We visited with Piedmont Fire Chief Mike Ledbetter and a number of students on Thursday morning at Piedmont High School and got an opportunity to see the ‘Junior Firefighter’ Program in action. Chief Ledbetter said the idea for the program began when the number of volunteers in his department began to decline.

Dr. Adam Clemons, Principal of Piedmont High School talked about how the school became involved in the program.

Currently there are four individuals participating in the program however Chief Ledbetter says he understands that word is quickly spreading across campus and he expects that number to drastically grow for the next session.

Once these students complete the course of study which includes both hands-on and classroom exercises, the will be certified by the Alabama Fire College as Volunteer Firefighters and will be eligible to be added to the roster at the Piedmont Fire Department.