By Mike Archbold
The News Tribune

TACOMA, Wash. — Ericka Cruz knows what she wants to do with her life. "I always wanted to be somebody who could help people," the 18-year-old senior at Auburn High School said.

So last week she took a step in that direction and spent a summer day with Valley Regional Fire Department crews in Auburn at Headquarters Station 31. She went on medical calls with two crews, helped with station and equipment maintenance, ate dinner with one crew and was able to talk to both new and veteran firefighters about the fire service.

"I had fun," she said of her eight-hour stint at the station. She wants to try it again. "The day went very quickly."

The best part, she said, was talking to the firefighters. She was impressed by the 60 pounds of gear that they strap on when they fight a fire.

"I also learned that 72 percent of their calls are medical," she said.

One of the two medical calls she was on involved a man who had fallen and was unconscious. She said firefighters stabilized him and he was taken to the hospital.

Riding in the firetruck on a real call "was pretty exciting," she said. The experience, Cruz said, further cemented her desire to join the fire service.

"She wanted to stay longer," Kimberly McDonald, the department's education coordinator who spent part of the day with her at the station, said of Cruz's enthusiasm. The program doesn't allow overnight stays for youth.

Not all fire departments even offer a ride-along experience to teenagers. Those that do, like Valley Regional, usually work through school career counselors.

That's how Cruz landed her ride-along. She talked to an Auburn High counselor who helped her with the paperwork and arranged for the day.

Cruz doesn't have firefighting skills yet, but she does bring a skill that every fire department is looking for. She speaks both Spanish and English.

Her parents, Joel and Laura, brought their family to the United States from Mexico when Ericka was 6 years old. Cruz, her three brothers and her sister first lived in California before coming to South King County, she said.

She had hoped to graduate this past June, but a delay in her senior project and difficulty with the WASL test has brought her back for another year.

Her goal after graduation is to enter the fire services program at Bates Community College in Tacoma, if she can afford the tuition and transportation.

Auburn firefighter Mike White, 25, is a graduate of the department's ride-along program.

White was only 14 when he went on his first ride-along with the then-named Auburn Fire Department and was immediately smitten. Valley Regional requires student ride-alongs to be at least 16.

"I fell in love with it from that day," he said.

White said he went on several ride-alongs as part of a mentorship program through Auburn High School.

After working as a volunteer for a number of fire departments, including Riverside Fire Department in Pierce County, he was hired full time by Valley Regional in April 2006.

"We think it is a very valuable program," said McDonald. "You can really get a sense of what it's like to do the job."