Kids Wrap Up Fire Camp With Competition

About 40 youths brought the 14th Annual Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Kids Fire Camp to a close Friday afternoon with competition day at Carmichael's .

Fire Camp is a four day-long camp that began Tuesday. Each day of camp 11-13 year olds were given a chance to see and learn the varied disciplines of today’s fire service.

On Friday afternoon, the kids competed in a water Bucket Brigade; Make and Break, where they took turns connecting a fire hose and knocking down a traffic safety cone and Waterhockey, where they faced another team and had to use a fire hose to push a water bucket toward their opponent.

The team of Fire Force 1 took the competition. The teams called Honeybaked Hamsters and Silent Ninjas tied for second place while Team Venom and the Firebreathers tied for third.

"My dad (Curt Wick, a captain at Station 41 in Sacramento) was a counselor and I enjoyed going into a burn room," said Kayleigh Wick, 12, of Yuba City, who was on the winning team. "We know more about fires now so we'll be safer."

Fire officials said the camp costs about $100 per child but that grants and donations help bring costs down.

"This is our largest community outreach program," said Jason Wenner, an engineer/paramedic with Sac Metro Fire who served as this year's camp leader. "The fire service is a mystery to many and we need more awareness of what the fire service does."

On Wednesday, campers met at Station 106 located at 2200 Park Towne Circle in the Arden-Arcade area to learn about auto extrication and see a firefighter physical fitness challenge.

On Thursday, the kids met at the Roseville Training Center for Live Fire Day, when they used fire extinguishers and climbed a 100-foot ladder. They took turns taking a hose line into a burn room where a training fire was going and they had to put out the fire. 

The campers spent Friday morning at Golfland/Sunsplash in Roseville where they were taught water safety and water rescue techniques. They then headed to Carmichael for a family barbecue and the three competitions.

addressed the kids and told them he hoped many of them would joing Sac Metro Fire in the future.

"I enjoyed the fire camp because it was a lot of fun and you learned a lot about fire safety," said Paris Bakke, 11, of Fair Oaks, who was on the winning team. "It's a great time."

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Check back later for a video from Friday's Kids Fire Camp.