FREEPORT – The best way to learn something often is by doing it.

That can be easy for some things, but not so much when it comes to firefighting. Fortunately, the Freeport Fire Department has a way for kids who have aspirations of becoming firefighters to pick up the necessary skills.

It’s called the Explorer Program, which Freeport Deputy Chief Paul Conley said is offered for kids between the ages of 14 and 21 through a division of the Boy Scouts of America. Though the program is offered through the Boy Scouts, it is co-ed and there are three girls among the ranks of Freeport’s 18 Explorers.

“It’s focused on teenagers to give them an opportunity of learning about leadership, character building and career opportunities,” Conley said.

Conley, an Eagle Scout who is now the district chairman of the Casco Bay District of the Boy Scouts of America, started the Freeport program when he arrived at the department in 1996 as the EMS chief. Since Freeport already had a junior firefighter program at the time, the Explorer post in Freeport began solely as a rescue unit, but over time, the two programs have merged, Conley said.

The aim of the program is a simple one.

“It’s all about learning about the career path,” Conley said. “Many of these kids want to become, at this point in their life, firefighters. We’re basically delivering firefighting training to them.”

Conley said that the training provided through the program can lead to a career, adding that several former Explorers have gone on to join the Freeport department as firefighters.

Those in the program meet twice a month on average and get their training at those meetings, Conley said. But while the training gives a wide scope of what a firefighter does, there are some limits.

Because of age restrictions placed on the program by the Maine Bureau of Labor Standards, the kids in the program can’t go into a burning building, and that includes a controlled training fire.

“We can set up and do everything but a training burn,” Conley said. “We can darken the building, we can cover their masks, use fake smoke and go through the dynamics (of battling a live fire). We just can’t do live fire training.”

Once the kids are checked out on their equipment and the tools on the truck, Conley said, they are allowed to go to certain calls with the crew.

“We won’t let them go out onto the interstate, we don’t let them go to serious, traumatic-type calls and they don’t get to do medical assist calls,” Conley said.

But the Explorers are more than just mere bystanders at the scene. Conley said the Explorers are expected to provide assistance, getting necessary tools for the firefighters and serving as an extra pair of hands.

Those in the program say they thoroughly enjoy the experience.

“Ever since I joined, it’s been a good thing for me,” said 15-year-old Colin Richard of Freeport. “I used to be a troublemaker and I’ll admit it, but ever since I joined (the Explorers) I really whipped into shape and I’m doing a lot better in school. Now that I have this, it’s got my life into where it should be and I’m getting better grades. This is a good place to be.”

“I like being down here, it’s a good place to be, said Brandon Soule, 15, of Freeport. “It keeps you out of trouble for one, it gives you something to do.”

The issue of getting better grades and staying out of trouble is a big one for Conley. He said that the program keeps track of how the members are doing in school, and a slip-up there can have consequences.

“We’ve seen some improvement in schoolwork because if you’ve got issues in school and you’re not passing, then you get suspended from the program,” he said.

Freeport’s Luke Jackson, 14, is a relative newcomer to the program, but he has long held aspirations of working as a firefighter.

“I’ve always wanted to work here,” he said. “It’s a great way to help the community.”

“If you want to be a firefighter, this is where you want to be,” agreed Richard.

Soule said he was drawn to the program because he has wanted to be a firefighter for most of his life.

“Ever since I saw 9/11 when I was a little kid I just want to be something bigger than myself,” he said.

Durham’s Seth Pierce, 15, has a family legacy at Freeport – his dad is a member of the department and introduced him to the Explorer program. Pierce said he likes the training and that, like most of the other Explorers, he hopes to be a firefighter someday. “I enjoy it,” he said.

And if they stick with the program, Conley said there is a good chance that these Explorers could realize their dreams of becoming firefighters.

“Out of this group, I would dare say that we would see five or six of them become regular members of the department when they graduate from high school,” Conley said. “They will be an asset to the department.”

Freeport Fire Explorers, from left, Colin Richard, Luke Chapman, Seth Pierce and Brandon Soule get fully geared up at the Freeport Fire Station. The teenagers are part of a program sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America that trains them to become firefighters.   
Freeport Fire Explorer Brandon Soule demonstrates the proper use of a fire extinguisher at a recent open house.