National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Honors Rowlett (TX) Explorer Post One As Its 2022 Junior Firefighter Program Of The Year

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) recognized the Rowlett (TX) Explorer Post One as its Junior Firefighter Program of the Year for 2022. The award is sponsored by California Casualty.

The junior firefighters received their award, during a special ceremony, which was held on April 19, 2022, at a meeting of the Rowlett City Council, in Rowlett, Texas, USA.

Junior firefighters awarded

Tim Rutland, the National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) Director from Texas and Executive Director of the State Firefighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas, presented the award.

In addition, Texas State Representatives - Angie Chen Button and John Vick, the District Director at Texas Senate District 2 for Bob Hall, attended the ceremony and presented the honors to the junior firefighters.

Rowlett Explorer Post One

The program develops in its members a culture of leadership, service to others

Rowlett Explorer Post One is chartered by the Rowlett Citizen Corps Council and co-sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) Learning for Life Exploring Program and the Rowlett Fire Department. The post works closely with the Rowlett Fire Department, in order to integrate training and opportunities for learning where possible.

The program develops in its members a culture of leadership, service to others, and a commitment to community involvement. The Explorers participate in or host many events, including preparedness education, fire extinguisher training, smoke alarm blitzes, recycling drives, merit badge seminars, and first aid trainings. Each year, the Explorers donate thousands of hours in volunteer service.

Activities the post engaged in during 2021 include the following:

• In February 2022, the Explorers joined Rowlett Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members to train with Rowlett Fire Department’s Swiftwater Rescue Team. They learned about basic inflatable rescue boat operations, how to swim and protect people in moving water, and how to work as a team, in order to rescue victims trapped in water bodies.
• The post participated in the BSA Circle Ten Council’s Venturing Rendezvous event in March 2022, providing a fire engine and bunker gear for the event. Venturers and Scouts were able to explore the fire engine, try on the gear, and put out a live fire using a charged fire hose.
• Three Explorers and four advisors traveled to the Sid Richardson Scout Ranch in April, where they learned how to climb, rappel, and run climbing programs for BSA youth. All seven attendees completed their instructor training and became certified BSA climbing instructors.
• Post One leadership annually teaches a youth leadership seminar to Explorers in Circle Ten posts (which encompass central north Texas and portions of Oklahoma). The 2021 event, hosted at the Rowlett Community Centre, taught nearly a hundred Explorers about leadership traits, values, and principles that they were able to take back to their individual posts.
• In June 2022, the post hosted its annual high adventure event, where a dozen advisors and Explorers spent a week traveling down the Current River in the Ozark National Forest by canoe. Members improved their team building, increased their canoe skills and also practiced their outdoor survival skills.
• The post hosted Circle Ten’s annual Explorer Fire Games in July 2022, at the Rowlett Fire Training facility. The event received great feedback from both attending Explorers and supervising advisors.

The Junior Firefighter Program of the Year Award was presented at a local ceremony, in order to provide all members the opportunity to attend. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) recognized its other annual award winners, at its spring meeting, which took place on April 8, 2022.