SAN DIEGO — Young fire recruits trained vigorously at Southwestern College Tuesday, learning hands-on skills they’ll need to become professional firefighters. The group of 13 recruits, down from 27 who started the academy in August, practiced putting out simulated car fires and used chainsaws to ventilate a makeshift roof, carefully cutting through the plywood while not severing the support rafters.
“Everything we do is a teamwork skill,” said fire recruit Alexandra Loitz. “That way you can have someone whose looking out for you while you’re looking out for them. If there needs to be a change in strategy, if they see something you don’t, then you can work together to figure something out.”
Loitz is one of two women who started the current academy class. The other woman was recently hired by San Diego-Fire Rescue before even finishing her certification at Southwestern College.
“I love being a female in the fire service,” said Loitz. “I get a bunch of brothers, basically. I have two older brothers, so for me it just feels like home. And I like being that influence for young women by being the person that says, ‘Hey, you can do this career as well.’”
Loitz has benefitted from some great mentors, including Chief Lorraine Hutchinson, Director of Fire Technology at Southwestern College.
“I’ve always said this, ‘If people see you, they can be you,’” said Chief Hutchinson.
At San Diego Fire-Rescue, Chief Hutchinson was the first ever African American woman promoted to engineer, captain, battalion chief, and deputy chief before retiring in 2015. She told CBS 8 she is proud of all her accomplishments, but admitted she is also disappointed.
“Two African-American women were hired at the same time, me and another one, and we lasted until retirement, and now there’s none,” said Chief Hutchinson. “Now I think just being in this position, anytime I’m wearing this shirt, I am recruiting because if they can see me and they can see that I’ve done it, then they can know that they can do it as well.”
Chief Hutchinson is content to be in a position now to help others who aspire for a career in firefighting, such as fire recruit Mariano Pérez-Appel, who is doing it for the right reasons.
“Sometimes I get a little nervous thinking of what could happen going into this career,” said Pérez-Appel. “But I just know there’s a lot of things that outweigh that like serving my community, being there to help people day-to-day. I genuinely think that outweighs all the fears and thoughts that I have.”
The current class of recruits will be graduating in July. The accredited firefighter 1 academy at Southwestern College costs about $3,500, which can be paid in installments. It spans for two semesters with training on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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