Valley high school students learn to fight fires with chance to work in their hometown

SCOTTSDALE – Coronado High School’s new Fire Science Academy is a partnership with the Scottsdale Fire Department and the East Valley Institute of Technology that is preparing high schoolers to fight fires right on campus.

The program started this 2025-26 school year by walking students through the basic skills that could push them ahead in the fire academy after graduation.

Chuck Hermann, the fire instructor, said students also learn discipline, respect and the culture of firefighting.

“We got to break them down and bring them back up again,” Hermann said. “So as far as skills wise, we’re getting into the basics, fire history, the culture of the fire department, ventilation, these types of things.”

Hermann said the most important skill is being comfortable in the heavy gear, with students walking up and down flights of stairs to practice mobility.

Justin Sirota is a senior in the program, and he said his favorite skill to learn so far has been opening a fire hydrant.

“I knew I wanted to be a firefighter since I was really little, to be honest, so it shows us what it takes to be a firefighter and like, all the tools you’re going to have to use, all the keywords you’re going to have to know,” Sirota said.

Captain Dave Folio with Scottsdale Fire explained that some of his staff signed up to be mentors in the fire science academy, where they will be working with students that could end up being their colleagues.

“We’re hiring. We’ve got 180 people that are eligible to retire,” Folio said. “So, we’re always looking for the young generation and especially the ones that actually grew up in the city of Scottsdale. To be able to say that you work in the city of Scottsdale, we see a little bit of pride that for the people that do that.”

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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