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Prefer a skill over a university? Seminole County to begin firefighting program for high school freshmen

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Published  January 14, 2025 6:51pm EST
Seminole County
FOX 35 Orlando

The high school program for future firefighters in Seminole County

Want to be a firefighter when you grow up? Well FOX 35's Marie Edinger has more information on the high school program being offered in Seminole County for those wanting to get a jump start on their future.

The Brief

    • There is a nationwide firefighter shortage, and Central Florida is no exception.
    • Seminole County Public Schools is offering a way to get more firefighters trained up and in gear. 
    • It’s called the Bear Brigade Fire Academy at Winter Springs High School and training kicks off in the 9th grade.

ORLANDO, Fla. - There is a nationwide firefighter shortage, and Central Florida is no exception.

But that shortage is actually fairly new. Those jobs were extremely competitive up until about 2020.

Now, Seminole County Public Schools is offering a way to get more firefighters trained up and in gear. 

What they're saying: Dr Shawn Gard-Harrold, the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Pathways with Seminole County Public Schools, says they’d been trying to get the program implemented for quite some time.

"We look at the regional demand occupations list when we're determining what programs we're going to offer," said Dr. Gard-Harrold. "And so firefighting was on the state, local and national regional demands."

What we know: It’s called the Bear Brigade Fire Academy at Winter Springs High School.

Thanks to a $2.7 million grant from the Florida Department of Education, students as young as freshmen can join. "It’s a way for students to enter the workforce in a way that's meaningful for them and for their community relatively quickly after high school," explained Dr. Gard-Harrold.

Once they hit their senior year, they can start up dual enrollment at Seminole State’s Fire Academy.

The majority of firefighters in Seminole County went through that program, including Nick Norelli, an engineer for Seminole County Fire Rescue.
He says he knew pretty early on, traditionally classroom schooling wasn’t for him. 

"I saw the firemen rappelling off the building out at Seminole State, and I was like, ‘I can do that.’ And, you know, 13 or 14 years later, I'm out here teaching the same thing that inspired me to be a fireman."

He says he loved his time at the Fire Academy, and if he could’ve started there in high school, he absolutely would have done it.
"I remember coming home dirty and sore, but I had a big smile on my face," said Norelli. "It's like, ‘Yeah, this is way better than a computer.’"

The Seminole County Fire Department will be at Winter Springs High School this Friday, recruiting future firefighters.
Students from any high school in the county can apply for this program – they just have to find a way to get to Winter Springs High, transportation won’t be provided.

The Source: The information in this article comes from Seminole County Fire Rescue, Seminole State’s Fire Academy, the Florida Department of Education and Seminole County Public Schools. Information obtained by FOX 35 reporter Marie Edinger.

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