By Anna Wiest
The Daily Item
DANVILLE, Pa. — After two years of planning, eight Danville Area High School seniors began the first-ever Emergency Responder Academy Co-op on Monday.
Eric Frantz, a volunteer with East End Fire Company, was responding to an emergency in late summer 2023 when he realized the group of local active volunteers was aging.
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In the fall of 2023, Frantz started a Fire Club at the Danville Area High School, building interest as he laid a foundation for what would become the Emergency Responder Academy Co-op.
The co-op will allow a maximum of 12 students to take the approximate 200 hours of training required to become a volunteer during their school day.
Frantz recognized that asking high school students to go through this training on evenings and weekends could be exhausting, especially when adding on homework, athletics, extracurriculars and more.
Representative Michael Stender, who worked as a career firefighter in Harrisburg before running for office, said he remembered taking the same classes after school during his senior year.
Stender took these classes through Bucks County Community College, the same school working with the Danville Area School District to make the co-op possible.
Geisinger EMS will also be working with the Danville class.
The impact of the fire club alone is apparent. In August 2023, six Danville students volunteered at local firehouses. As of Monday, Frantz said the club had 20 members, most of whom volunteer.
There are currently eight students enrolled in the Danville co-op, with four seats still open, according to Frantz.
Pennsylvania Fire Academy Administrator Harvey Boyer challenged students to make the most out of their training.
“You’ve got a lot to accomplish in those two hours a day,” Boyer said.
As for the future of the program, Frantz said this is only the beginning.
“Our hope is really that this grows into something even bigger,” Frantz said.
The plan is to make the co-op a recurring opportunity for Danville Area students. Additionally, Frantz said he hopes other school districts might start offering similar programs.
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