SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (KCAU) — The Sergeant Bluff School District and Fire Department have helped each other for nearly two decades by training the next generation of firefighters.

For over 16 years, Sergeant Bluff-Luton students have helped their community by becoming volunteer firefighters.

In 2009, the Sergeant Bluff-Luton School District and Fire Department created the program.

“It started out with just two students that year, and tried to fill that out. And then between then and now, we’ve had over 40 students from the high school here in town,” said Fire Chief Anthony Gaul, with the Sergeant Bluff Fire Department.

Currently, there are three students training and working at the fire department: Mya, Carter, and Zierra.

Each became a firefighter for one reason or another.

“Growing up, I’ve always liked and been inspired by firefighters and like their courage and bravery. It’s always been something on my mind,” said Zierra Gray, a volunteer firefighter and a Junior High School student.

“Always wanted to help my community out, and then also just exploring new pathways for a career. I didn’t really know I was going to do, so figured this to be something I would like,” said Carter Gehling, a volunteer firefighter and Senior High School student.

“I really, really enjoy helping people and just get a lot of like it’s my meaning in life to help people, so this is one way I could do that,” said Mya Kleve, a volunteer firefighter and Junior High School student.

When a fire is called or someone needs an ambulance, these high schoolers answer the call to help.

“Picking up patients for a lift assist or helping them get equipment to the medics or the EMT who are responding to the call, and then also just patient care. During fires will do multiple different things, whether it’s stretching line, refilling bottles, something as simple as getting water for people that are in the fire,” said Gehling.

On top of going out on calls, the students are constantly practicing their firefighter skills. Skills that can also help with their school work.

“Good teamwork skills that involve being in school too, so learning to work with different people and adapt with how different people work,” said Gray.

“When you put high school students into adult like situations, and in this case it couldn’t get any more real world, they’re really capable of some really amazing things and the skills that they learn are transferable into so many different areas in their life currently and in their future careers,” said Chad Janzen, the superintendent with Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District.

Not only does this program help students, but it also tackles a nationwide problem: the need for volunteer firefighters.

“We’ve seen the retention of a lot of these as the firefighters that are our go-to firefighters right now. A lot of them are in career fields with the fire service, but have stayed here and now they’ve got five, six, seven years of training and knowledge accumulated and experienced by responding to calls, so it’s been a great benefit for our entire community,” said Chief Gaul.

“It’s been a very important role in my life, it’s like showed me who I am, and made me find my meaning in life, I guess,” said Gray.

“I’d like to continue volunteering, but not as a career because I want to be a doctor, but I think, honestly, the town, wherever I live, when I’m an adult, will depend if they have a volunteer fire department or not, because I would like to continue volunteering,” said Kleve.

Janzen said there are plans to start a fire academy for the Sergeant Bluff-Luton School District. Eventually, planning to help smaller communities grow their volunteer fire departments.