Associated Press
DETROIT — Officials in Detroit are unveiling a 2-year pilot program designed to train high school students as firefighters and EMTs by the time they graduate.
The partnership announced Thursday involves the Detroit Fire Department and Detroit Public Schools. Under the program, students will get certification so that they’re immediately eligible to be hired by fire departments in Detroit or elsewhere.
Detroit says that most new hires into the city’s fire department historically have come from suburban communities that had similar training for years in high schools.
The partnership was detailed at Cody High School’s Medicine and Community Health Academy on the city’s west side, where classes will be held. The Detroit News reports Mayor Mike Duggan says: “This is how you create opportunities for young people in the city of Detroit.”