Franklin Fire Launches Internship Academy

The Franklin Fire Department launched a new internship academy and partnered with Williamson County Schools for a new high school course to encourage young adults to enter fire and public safety jobs.

FFD has reduced the hiring age of firefighters from 21 to 18 alongside the introduction of its inaugural 19-week internship academy.

In about two weeks, the department’s new interns – Noah Criado, Drew Glover, Henry O’Kelley, Charles Taylor and Benjamin Walker – will begin that training academy. The department held a signing ceremony at Franklin Fire Station 2 on Thursday for the five recent high school graduates.

“These interns will take classes, do schooling, you'll be pulling lots of hose, you're going to learn and earn your first fire [certifications] in this field, you're gonna get everything you need to become a firefighter, either with the city of Franklin, with the neighboring department, or even a neighboring state,” FFD Firefighter and Internship Academy Coordinator David Konstant said to a crowd of around 70 ceremony attendees.

In addition to the internship academy, FFD and WCS partnered together to create a new fire management course which will have 11 student participants from WCS high schools in the fall.

Those students – Julius Branch, Isaiah Brown, Athena Cho, Ada Fisher, Aiden Gardner, Jonathan Hale, William Hale, Kaleb Hollister, Chris Johansen, Andrew Lantz, Cooper Mayatte, and Paityn Robertson – also took part in the signing day ceremony.

“Today marks a significant milestone, not just for the students that are seated here before us, but also for the community and the future of public safety here in the city of Franklin today,” FFD Chief Glenn Johnson said.

The new programs come as fire departments nationwide attempt to address staffing shortages, with Johnson telling the Williamson Scene that “recruitment and retention is going to continue to probably be one of our biggest obstacles, and that’s why this program is so important.”

Franklin City Administrator Eric Stuckey said they are creating a pipeline that feeds public service and public safety more than ever before.

“Now, we've widened that pipeline, but we haven't lowered the bar, the expectation of high level of service and high quality that goes out these doors to serve our community – that's not changing,” Stuckey said. “But, we're embracing the opportunity to bring more people in, more young people into a very honorable profession.”

City of Franklin Human Resources Director Kevin Townsel said that the program’s creation was some two years in the making after a visit to Scottsdale, Arizona, where Coronado High School launched a fire science academy.

WCS College, Career, and Technical Education Assistant Director Kris Schneider said: “This initiative shows the power between a public school system and a public service organization and a city coming together for one common goal. It's more than turnout gear. It's more than fire trucks. It's about instilling purpose, discipline and initiative in everything that you do, and your sense of community.”

During the ceremony, Shneider and her father, Rick Rosenwald, were also honored with the naming of an award. The top student in the fire management program will be given the Rosenwald Recruit award. Rosenwald is a retired fire captain from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.