Carlow County Fire & Rescue Service have delivered their first pilot Transition Year Course Programme at the Hacketstown Training & Development Centre. The programme took place from March 31st to April 4th, 2025. The 5 day course gave Transition Year students an opportunity to experience the training and role of a firefighter, in addition to a certified Manual Handling Course and an Irish Heart Foundation CPR Course.
The students completed a wide range of firefighter training including:
- Foot Drill, Marching and being on a Parade as a team
- Fire Hoses, branches and hydrant equipment
- Pump operations
- Knots & Lines
- Introduction to Breathing Apparatus and Confined Spaces
- Fire Extinguisher
- Foam firefighting
- Water Rescue & Throw bags
- Fire Appliance familiarisation
- RTC equipment and procedures
- Limits of flammability
- Teamwork competitions
The course also received a visit from the HSE National Ambulance Service including a tour around an Ambulance and the medical lifesaving equipment carried on the vehicle with an opportunity to talk to paramedics about a career in the Ambulance Service. The Carlow Roads Policing Unit also visited the course and talked about their role at RTC’s and Road Safety measures they use such as speed checks, roadside breathalysers and drugs tests. The Gardai also gave an insight into a career as a Garda. Students also got to wear VR goggles and experience being involved in an RTC virtually, a valuable lesson about road hazards, distraction and causes of RTCs before starting the learn to drive. They also received a tour of Carlow County Fire & Rescue Services Incident Command Unit and got to observe operational firefighter carrying out refresher Breathing Apparatus and Compartment Fire Behaviour Training on courses being ran alongside the TY Course at the Hacketstown Training & Development Centre.