The Chapel Hill Fire Department has rewarded Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools with a fire truck as part of their new district-wide Firefighting Academy at Chapel Hill High.

The fire truck and the academy are a result of a partnership between CHCCS’s Career and Technical Education Department, the Chapel Hill Fire Department and Durham Tech Community College.

CHCCS Board Chair James Barrett called the unveiling of the fire truck a “historic day”.

“The piece of equipment that we have here has served our community well; it has protected property; it has even saved lives in its’ past career,” said Barrett. “But now it moves on to a new chapter, and it’s going to continue to serve our community in creating this next generation of heroes.”

Students can attend firefighting classes starting their sophomore year and earn credit toward an associate’s degree along with a certification.

Superintendent Pam Baldwin said she believes the fire truck will be instrumental in providing students with first-hand career technical experience.

“In education circles, we always talk about how important career technical education is for our students,” said Baldwin. “We talk about it all the time because we know how important it is for our students to have real experiences and to find their passion.”

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