This year, Adam Lowery was the first member of Boothbay Fire Department’s Junior Firefighter program, and it wasn’t long before he recruited three more members. Lowery joined because his brother, Taylor Lowery, is a former junior firefighter and current Boothbay fireman. He encouraged fellow Boothbay Region High School sophomores Gareth Hodgdon, Isaac Bradstreet-Doughty and Jordan Pait to join. 

A fifth junior firefighter, Jaeden Arsenault, joined three weeks later. On the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, Chief Dick Spofford and an experienced Boothbay firefighter teach a 90-minute class about fire protection and safety. These students are learning the same tactics used by Boothbay’s volunteer fire department. Not only do they learn a fire safety lesson, they are also fulfilling a school graduation requirement.

“I joined the same reason why these other two guys did (Hodgdon and Bradstreet-Doughty). It like an interesting way to earn your community service hours,” Pait said. It’s been pretty interesting, and, yeah, I may become a firefighter when I get older.”

Each BRHS student is required to earn 20 community service hours with a maximum of five each year. But that isn’t the only reason these students became junior firefighters. “It’s a pretty cool and an awesome way to earn your community service hours,” Hodgdon said. “It also may look good on my resume. I’d like to be a game warden or fight fires as an Alaskan smoke jumper. They jump out of planes to put out a forest fire before it gets out of hand. They are like the Seal Team 6 of firefighters.”

Bradstreet-Doughty is considering  a career in law enforcement and thinks his experience as a junior firefighter may prove beneficial. “I have a great deal of respect for the military and firemen. My father attended the police academy so I’m thinking about police work, but being a fireman would be pretty cool, too,” he said. 

In the two months of training, the junior firefighters are most impressed with the high-tech equipment used in fire protection. Hodgdon enjoyed learning about the department’s rescue truck. “One truck has no water. It uses massive claws to cut open a vehicle. And it was pretty cool to ride in it, too,” he said.

Beeping fire suits made the biggest impression on Bradstreet-Doughty. He was impressed by how technology is used in protecting firemen in a dangerous situation. “We’ve learned about all the suits, masks and respirators. If you don’t move around, the suits will beep to alert others that you may be down. I think that was really cool,” Bradstreet-Doughty said.

Boothbay’s Junior Firefighting Program was begun nearly 12 years ago by Spofford’s daughter Emily. And the current volunteer department has a handful of members who participated. One month, the lesson may be learning how to properly roll a fire hose or properly fill an air tank. “I try to keep it interesting each month,” Spofford said. “I use different instructors to keep everything fresh.”

None of the Junior Firefighters have been on a call. If they should, Spofford said their participation is limited by law. “They are restricted to a cold zone and can’t direct traffic. That is a big no-no,” he said. “But the program is a good chance to teach them what firefighting is all about.”

Spofford conducts each class at the Boothbay fire station from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. But classes occasionally start late, as Spofford waits for students finishing up a sports practice or game before starting.