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Explorers compete in Texas

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Four Peachtree City teens who competed in an arson investigation contest last month in College Station, Tex., always thought they had what it takes to be top-notch arson investigators, but now the world knows it, too.

Four adults and 17 students who participated in the Peachtree City Fire and Rescue Department’s Explorers Program traveled to the Lone Star State to compete in the National Fire/Emergency Services Exploring Conference from June 20-24.

The teens, which ranged in ages from 15 to 18, were split into four groups of four. When it was all over, one of the teams captured a second place trophy or the Silver in the arson investigation competition.

The competition was fierce. But despite constant interference from people who pretended to be drunk, the teens pulled it off, said Sgt. John Dunlap, who heads up the Explorers Program.

The group finished the competition in 15 minutes, Dunlap said. The winning team from Peoria, Ill., finished in 12 minutes, he added.

“There were eight different competitions that we entered in,” Dunlap, said. “We had four set to go and we had to train in each and every competition because we did not find out until we got to the event site which competition we would have.”

Trying to train for eight competitions made life interesting, Dunlap said.

Among the competitions, the teens competed in were a room search, the bunker gear relay and a paramedic biking competition. The biking competition included a two-mile cross country bike course. The participants had to bike one mile up, do a patient assessment on a victim who fell off his bike, and bike one mile back.

The teens didn’t win every competition. But Dunlap indicated they were thrilled to be a part of it.

“They had a blast,” he said. “For a lot of these kids, I think it was a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

Dunlap was certainly proud of their win, he said.

“These kids were ecstatic,” Dunlap said. “This post has never competed in any kind of event before and I’m just thrilled to death that these guys did what they did.”

Kyle Prince, Laura Judy, Brian Kinyoun and Stacy McMichael will be honored for their win during a Peachtree City Council meeting July 21.