Collier County students attend first responders job fair

Students in Collier County got an up-close look at what life would be like if they were a first responder.

Collier County students got to see what it was like to save lives and protect themselves at a first responders job fair Friday.

“How often do you get to actually say you went into firefighter’s gear and see what it’s like to carry the equipment and get into a hazmat suit?” said James Cunnigham, chief of North Collier Fire Rescue District.

From seeing the bomb squad in action to firefighters battling a room engulfed in flames, it’s not a typical day for students in the Collier County Public Schools district.

Eleventh-grader Julie Rafael has a whole new perspective on her future.

“There’s more things out there,” Rafael said. “At first, a nurse is a typical job. Now there is physical therapy, engineering It’s opened my eyes.”

It could open the door for new opportunities for students.

North Collier Fire Chief James Cunningham said it’s getting hard and harder to hire and keep first responders because of the high cost of living in Collier County. The low unemployment rate is also making it harder to hire new first responders in Collier County.

That’s why his department teamed up with the school district to look for recruits.

“This is the better way to get people, especially emergency services,” Cunningham said. “When people are familiar with the community, they’re invested in the community. They want to serve the community; and obviously, they’re able to maintain their family unity.”

Cunningham is enthusiastic with the student turnout at the event and hopeful for the future. Close to 400 high school students attended the first responders job fair, learning about all different fields from health to law enforcement.

“This is work-based learning,” Chad Oliver said. “So it’s so vital for the students to go out and experience the jobs that are available now and the jobs that are coming in the future.”

Cunningham said that’s the key to the whole event — showing students there’s so much more to these fields than what meets the eye.

“Where else do you get the opportunity to meet with the people from the bomb squad and the sheriff’s office that are recruiting for things like flying a drone? Cunningham said. “There’s helicopters here to see what the aviation industry has.”