Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
Season 3 episode 1 of The Academy: Orange County Fire is available online. The reality show (more of a docu-drama) has previously been about law enforcement. This year it is all about a behind-the-scenes look at recruits of the Orange County Fire Authority, California.
You can read about the reality show here (all three seasons). You can visit the website for the current season here.
The Academy follows the Orange County Fire Authority Recruit Class 36. The class is comprised of the 28 lucky ones who were hired out of a pile of applicants. The recruit class is 18 weeks long and is paramilitary. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. I went through a similar recruit school in my department. Although mine was shortened to 12 weeks and we went 6 days a week. That blew!
The Fire Critic is a huge fan of paramilitary style recruit classes. This inside look at the recruit process should be watched by anyone who wants to be a firefighter. I am sure that many recruit schools are handled similarly in Cities across the U.S. and beyond. It isn’t easy…it isn’t supposed to be easy.
