Enrollment in the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company’s Fire Cadet Academy saw a record high this year for enrollment — with 17 young firefighters spending the week in training. AUSTIN URAM/BUTLER EAGLE

A group of teens is sweating under the sun in Cranberry Township this week learning what it takes to become a firefighter.

The goal of the township’s Fire Cadet Academy is to give high school students interested in fire service a safe, controlled opportunity to learn while experiencing the day-to-day life of a firefighter.

A record 17 students between ages 14 and 18, are participating this week at the township’s Public Safety Training Facility.

Organizer Trent Smith, a member of the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company, said although the academy is designed for beginning firefighters, the training is rigorous enough to attract junior firefighters in the region and is comparable to many professional certifications.

Although the would-be first responders won’t be fighting any actual fires this week, training in Cranberry’s state-of-the-art facility mirrors real-life situations.

The facility has a furnished four-story training tower that can be lit on fire and is piped for artificial smoke.

Some of the students have attended multiple years. Others signed up out of curiosity or at the urging of a parent. Either way, the academy gives teens a taste of the profession.

Twin brothers Sam and Joe Michel, juniors at Seneca Valley Senior High School, have been with the academy since its inception.

The weeklong training, they agreed, inspired them to pursue firefighting as a career — with the pair becoming junior members at the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company within the year.

With a shortage of firefighters and emergency responders both locally and nationwide, the academy opens the door to the profession for those attending and may encourage them to pursue firefighting as a career.

– JGG