By Terri Pederson tpederson@wiscnews.com
WiscNews
BEAVER DAM, Wis. — Twenty percent of the Beaver Dam Fire Department’s full-time firefighters were, at one time, part of the department’s cadets program.
Now the program, which started in 2009, is getting a boost with a $25,000 state grant to help purchase uniforms and other supplies. A ceremonial check was presented Tuesday night during the annual cadet banquet.
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The goal of the cadet program is to help cultivate the next generation of firefighters and Emergency Medical Service personnel by working each year with a group of about 10 high school-aged students who come from across Dodge County twice a month to work on those skills. The program begins and ends in August.
Dan Hereth, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, attended the banquet. His department is responsible for both firefighting and firefighter safety.
Beaver Dam cadets’ program is already a thriving program in developing the next generation of firefighters, Hereth said. But the training equipment was old and not sized for the students.
The funds will be used to purchase six sets of gear, which are arriving at the end of the month, said BDFD Cadet Program Lead Advisor Anthony Kuenzi, who himself is a former cadet for the department. A search and rescue mannequin and other training aids also will be purchased.
This state started this grant program seven years ago in recognition of the challenges rural fire departments face. One of the biggest was getting new firefighters for volunteer departments, Hereth said.
“We had departments who asked, ‘We only have two people in our department, should we respond and help our neighbors out when something goes wrong?” he said.
“Our response was ‘Absolutely don’t respond, because it is not safe for two people to respond,’” he said. “That just underscores the need we have in developing the next generation of firefighters.”
Then-Fire Chief Alan Mannel began Beaver Dam’s cadet program in 2009. As a youth, Mannel was part of a cadet program in Illinois.
Beaver Dam’s was the third cadet program Mannel started. He retired as Beaver Dam’s fire chief in 2021.
“Initially I saw cadet programs a way of paying back the fire service,” Mannel said. “If you can get a young person interested in the fire/EMS service early, you have a better chance of keeping them around.”
But the cadet program is also a great thing for young people, he said, “in that they have a safe place to make friends and build camaraderie with like-minded cadets and mentor leaders. Some of the kids in the programs didn’t have many positive adult role models in their lives, and the fire department filled the void kind of like a street gang, but in a good way.”
Miles Sherden, who served as the cadet captain this year, said he always had an interest in firefighting. Sherden just graduated from Waupun High School . He toured the fire department as a child and learned about the cadet program.
“I thought it would help me with my career path, and it definitely did,” he said. “It has let me have experiences in the community, let me get training to further my career and let me get my career in Waupun as an intern and becoming an EMT in Waupun thanks to the experience they gave me.”
Sherden is planning to return to the Beaver Dam Fire Department to work full-time because Waupun does not have a full-time department.
“I plan to work here for the rest of my career,” Sherden said.
The program does have a Facebook page. There is an application on www.bdfdcadets.org. Students looking to join this year must sign up in the next few weeks.
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