Winona Senior High School students will soon have a new way to explore and potentially pursue a career in firefighting.
Starting in the fall, juniors and seniors will have the option to take a firefighting course over two semesters.
The course will be presented online and led by two Winona firefighters: Assistant Chief Brandon Czaplewski and Capt. Brad Bartelson, who used to teach at Winona Area Public Schools.
Winona Fire Department
Winona Fire Department firefighters Pete Brueggen, left, and Mitchel Auman look at a heart monitor in one of the Winona Fire Department’s fire trucks Feb. 19.
“We have local connections, local instructors that are current, active firemen that are going to be leading and teaching the class, which is incredible because of the support they’re going to be able to provide them,” said Jeremy Graves, who serves as the career and technical education coordinator at the school.
Students can take the course as an elective over two semesters or as independent study in their free time.
“This really opens it up to all students,” Graves said. “We wanted to make sure that all students that walk into our doors that are junior or senior right now will be able to have this as an option.”
Students also will have six days of hands-on learning with the fire department.
The district will cover the costs of the course and its workbook.
Graves said the district hopes to partner with Riverland Community College so students can earn college credits, even if they don’t decide to become firefighters.
Students would need to pass a state test to become a firefighter.
Graves said the course idea was brought to the district by the Winona Fire Department. He said the district already was looking for ways to add career and technical education options.
“I think it was a no brainer,” he said.
Joel Corcoran, the city’s fire chief, said the department started exploring the idea several years ago.
Winona Fire Department
Winona Fire Department firefighter Mitchel Auman shows Alex Benson the Jaws of Life during a Feb. 19 ride-along.
The Rochester Fire Department offers a similar option with Riverland Community College.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel. We’re taking really what Rochester is doing, and we’re just going to use their format,” Graves said.
Corcoran said the department is “excited” to start.
“It’s something I think all of us in this building would have loved to see when we were that age,” he said.
Alex Benson, who graduated from WSHS in 2021, did a ride along with the department in February and believes the course is a “good thing.”
He said the course will teach students important, basic skills that could help them save lives.
Joel Corcoran
Corcoran
“Even if they don’t go into the field, they can at least help somebody that’s down if they need it,” Benson said.
Corcoran believes the course will provide a clear path for students to become firefighters — something he didn’t have 27 years ago when he started his career.
“This is us approaching the students, saying, ‘Here’s a clear path.’ And I think that that’s a really huge positive thing for these kids,” he said.
Corcoran said the skills learned could be applied to other jobs and is likely to help volunteer fire departments in the area.
“Throughout the country, there’s a shortage of firemen and women,” Graves said.
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Winona Fire Department engine
A fire truck is parked Feb. 19 inside the Winona Fire Department station on Third Street.
Corcoran said as firefighting has become more technical and complex, interest in the profession has waned, especially for volunteer departments.
“If you’re a volunteer and you’re being asked to do this on your own time, I mean, you’re chasing people away from the profession,” he said.
Some area volunteer departments include firefighters who work at the Winona department as well. This can cause staffing issues because of the overlap of people, Corcoran said.
“If we can get more people who maybe they want to be a auto mechanic or something, but they can also volunteer in their community, that’s a huge benefit for everyone,” Corcoran said.
The course should help create a new wave of potential firefighters.
“I hope that, if nothing else, it sparks interest, and we can kind of shore up our volunteer departments and get recruits,” Corcoran said.
Graves said the district’s goal is also to offer an EMS course starting in the 2026-27 school year, which could help students become licensed for that work, too. That licensure is also an important factor in working as a firefighter.
Graves highlighted the need for more career and technical education courses like these that lead to successful careers without needing to go to college.
“We need people that are skilled in professions that go beyond the brain. We need people skilled with their hands. We need people skilled and be able to create things and produce things for us,” he said. “We need mechanics, we need plumbers. We need electricians. We need firemen. We need peace officers. We need these people who wake up every day and provide key services to the rest of the public.”
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