Department's program trains future firefighters
Freehold Fire Dept. asks area teenagers to volunteer for service
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
People will always remember the one who did it first. For the record and for posterity as well, Tom Krause, 18, is the first graduate of the Freehold Fire Department's new junior firefighters program.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above: Freehold Borough junior firefighter Chris Kristiansen, 17, tries to complete a drill during which he has to properly put on all of his gear in under two minutes, as if he were responding to a fire. Kristiansen is one of several junior firefighters who are training with the Freehold Fire Department. Below left: How to properly use firefighting gear is one of the things Steve Correia, 16, is learning. Below right: Donald Rue discusses the different types of hoses, couplings and nozzles that are used by the Freehold Fire Department during a training session with junior firefighters Steve Correia, 16, Chris Kristiansen, 17 and Alec Jadacki, 17.

Krause, a Freehold High School senior, moved from junior firefighter, a title he held in September 2007, to full-fledged firefighter in February.

Fire Chief William Maushardt said he is more than pleased with how the program has progressed under the direction of a committee he put together a little more than a year ago.

"It's even more than I expected," he said. "We put the right people in the right position and it worked."

Fire department officials tried to institute a junior firefighters program more than a decade ago, but the idea never caught on. Maushardt made it a priority when he was named chief two years ago.

The Freehold firefighters who have reinvigorated the program are Chris Barkalow, Mitch Shatz, Chris Guy, Adam Keaney, Steve Sheehan, Patrick Healy and Donald Rue.

The junior firefighters program began with four members and eventually included seven members. Since Krause is no longer a junior firefighter, the group is now comprised of six members.

They are:

• Jeremy Hoffman, 17, of Freehold Borough, a junior at Freehold High School who joined the program in July 2007.

• Alec Jadackia, 17, of Freehold Township, a junior at Freehold High School who joined the program in February 2008.

• Chris Kristiansen, 17, of Freehold Borough, a student at Freehold High School who joined the program in March 2008.

• Steven Correia, 16, of Freehold Township, a student at Freehold High School, who joined the program in March 2008.

• Monique Best, 17, of Freehold Borough, a junior at Colts Neck High School who joined the program in July 2007.

• Julia Kologe, 17, of Freehold Township, a junior at Freehold High School who joined the program in July 2007.

Krause, who is now a regular member of the fire department, said he always wanted to be a firefighter and was waiting for fire officials to put the junior firefighters program into place. As soon as they did, he signed up for it.

Krause's father is Manalapan Patrolman Frank Krause, who is a former chief of the East Freehold Fire Company, Freehold Township.

Krause began training at the Monmouth County Fire Academy, Howell, on May 27. He said he learned a lot in the junior firefighters program and although he knows that the 150-hour training course he is about to embark on at the academy will not be easy, he believes he has a good idea of what to expect when he gets there.

The junior firefighters train at the Freehold firehouse every Monday night with firefighter Don Rue. They learn how to hook up equipment, recognize tools, and get instruction in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The junior firefighters meet at the Monmouth County Fire Academy once a month and receive hands-on training with instructors such as Bill Itinger, a former Freehold fire chief.

Itinger is junior firefighter Hoffman's grandfather.

"Between what they are learning here with Don Rue and the hands-on learning at the academy, they are basically getting the Firefighters I program," said Larry Jackson, another former Freehold chief.

The junior firefighters will also spend time at the Naval Fire Academy behind theMonmouth County FireAcademy and they will be taught how to fight electrical fires caused by transformers, electrical wires and fires that start in power plants. They will learn search and rescue techniques and attend blood-borne pathogen and Right-to-Know seminars.

Rue, a retired PerthAmboy firefighter, said he set up the training program from the Essentials of FirefightingManual. He said he is hoping more young people sign up for the junior firefighters program.

"The goal of the program is to turn out good firefighters, to protect them and teach them the safest way to fight fires through safety, teamwork and communication," Rue explained.

After about six months of training, the junior firefighters will be permitted to ride on a fire truck. The junior firefighters will only be permitted to respond to fire calls in Freehold Borough and only from after school until 9:30 p.m., according to Jackson. They will always be under close supervision by a veteran firefighter and will never be put in harm's way, he added.

The junior firefighters must maintain good academic standing in order to remain in the program.

Guy, one of the junior firefighters committee members, said it is rewarding to begin to see the fruits of their labor. He said there is room in the program for more young people.

And what do the junior firefighters think of the program?

Hoffman said it is a learning experience,

"We all help each other out. No one is left out. We're like a big family," he said.

Kristiansen said he wants to get involved in community service and this is a great start. He is also a member of the Police Explorers.

Jadackia said the program goes along with the career in law enforcement he is headed for.

"It allows us to get involved and help out," he said.

Correia said he was looking for a way to help the community and said the junior firefighters program is good preparation for the fire academy.

For more information about the Freehold Fire Department's junior firefighters program, call 732-462-0164.