When Andrew Mills jumped into a frozen Lake Tahoe in February, the sub-40-degree water and jagged blocks of ice floating in Tahoe Keys Marina couldn't stop him from smiling.

Two months later, Kyle "Fighting" Sullivan screams from the stinging agony of dragging 160-pound classmate Rick Ansel up a three-story fire escape, each of them wearing a 35-pound self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and 15 pounds of fire-resistant Nomex gear - referred to as turnouts. Minutes later, "Fighting Sully" was smiling.

Around the corner, Arthur Brown crawls blindfolded through a small wooden structure covered with electrical wire. His face is covered in sweat, dirt and grease. He also wears a SCBA.

Surrounding Brown, Lake Valley firefighters and volunteers bang objects and scream at him. They're attempting to disorient Brown during a simulation that teaches students how to leave a structure fire while blinded by smoke. Beneath his shroud, Brown smiles, too.

While Brown navigates the obstacle course, Kelly Fitzpatrick jumps head first from a window 20 feet above the ground and lands upside down on a ladder. Miraculously, she also smiles.

Mills, Sullivan, Brown and Fitzpatrick are Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy cadets. Despite the rigors of their training, they smile for the same reasons: accomplishment, camaraderie and dedication.

But in the beginning, the cadets are all business, and smiles are rare ...

On Sept. 18, 2007, 32 students began an intense program at Lake Tahoe Community College to receive Firefighter I certification. On June 28, only 20 students will graduate from the academy. Those students will have completed 510 hours of specialized training that distinguishes them as among the best and brightest.

Cadet Sophie Tetlow is one of the survivors.

"In the beginning, they hit you physically, then they hit you mentally; they just keep trying to make you quit. ... It's very paramilitary," Tetlow said during an interview last fall.

By the time Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy cadets graduate, they're ready for just about anything.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection requires 348 hours of training to receive Firefighter I certification, 162 fewer hours than Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy (LTBFA) cadets must endure. The additional, specialized training reflects the particular challenges stemming from the Lake Tahoe Basin's unique environment and community.

"We have phenomenal trainers here. We have the talent, and the geography of the basin helps us to do so much more," LTBFA Coordinator Leona Allen said about the extended-format fire academy that has operated for two years. The program, which was developed over 1 1/2 years, is increasing the basin's volunteer firefighter force and training people to save lives.

Firefighters from last year's class are already helping the community. At the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, the evidence is obvious.

According to South Tahoe Fire Chief Lorenzo Gigliotti, the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department maintains a reserve firefighter program which currently has approximately 17 active reserve firefighters.

"All of these individuals are former graduates of the LTBFA and have demonstrated high aptitude and compentencies," Gigliotti said.

LTBFA cadets gain unique experience through classes such as ice rescue training or high-angle rescue - situations which may occur more often in the Lake Tahoe Basin than in other places.

"The Tahoe Basin has unique climate and geographical concerns, which local firefighting forces are experienced to (handle)," Douglas County FIre Chief Guy LeFever noted. "The wide range of disciplines taught at LTBFA are appealing to smaller department such as Tahoe Douglas Fire, Lake Valley Fire and South Lake Tahoe Fire Department because we are limited in resources and long on expectations from our community."

The additional training LTBFA cadets receive allow them to augment their Firefighter I certificates. Cadets also graduate with certificates in auto extrication, hazardous materials, confined space awareness, rapid intervention crew, incident command systems, wildland fire and sexual harassment awareness.

"I definitely appreciate the extra hours," Tetlow said six months after her first Tribune interview. "It's completely beneficial to us as firefighters. We get more training, more hands-on (experience), and also it gave us much more time with the other cadets that we're with. We get to bond with them more, we get to trust them. Like me, a lot of the people in our academy want to work up here in Tahoe. So, they could be your co-workers. You could be in a burning building with them one day - having that background with them already helps so much."

Deputy State FIre Marshal Rodney Slaughter, with the office of state fire marshals, says the young academy's future looks good.

"The location is stellar - how great is it to go to an academy in Tahoe?" Slaughter said.

"I think it is the most eastern program (in the state). You really have a lot of pluses going for you."

Propelling the nascent academy to reality took many people and agencies. Of those, though, LTBFA Coordinator Leona Allen - who lost her home in the Angora fire - leads the group.

"I believe there are three types of people in the world: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened. Leona Allen is definitely one who makes things happen," Fire Chief LeFever contended.

"She is our academy mother," said cadet Fitzpatrick. "She has always been there for us."

Allen has two sons serving in the military in Iraq but also plays the role of mother for the LTBFA's 20 cadets. When the academy's students talk about Allen, the phrase "Academom" often comes up.

"She's one of the most amazing people I've ever met," said cadet Tetlow. "I've never seen her in a bad mood. She's so blunt and upfront, and always happy. She's always there, willing to help us out. There's not one thing we can ask of her that she can't find a solution to. She's our go-to person when something's going wrong. She's like the mom for all of us. She's awesome."

Allen, who also is the Lake Valley Fire Protection District's public information officer, coordinates the academy, its 20 instructors and the 25 instructional aides - many of whom are last year's graduates.

"I've never been involved with something that's been so good and so balanced," Allen said of the LTBFA program. "I'm real proud of what we've done."

The program was established by Allen, Lake Valley Battalion Chief Brad Zlendick and Lake Valley Capt. Mike Mosca, and South Lake Tahoe engineers Steve Monday and Sean Sullivan.

"We had the right ingredients at the right time," Allen said about the initial success of the program, which collaborates with Lake Tahoe Community College and all three South Shore fire agencies.

Allen's admirers extend beyond the program's cadets.

"I can't think of anyone more dedicated than Leona Allen," Gigliotti wrote in a recent e-mail. "Ms. Allen has provided uniform and consistent management and supervision to a program that began with limited resources and was met with mild levels of trepidation."

Lake Valley Fire Chief Jeff Michael concurs.

"Leona is our academy coordinator, den mother, go-to,

get-it-done, always available, whatever-it-takes person, and she writes grants for future funding," Michael said. "We are also in the process of becoming state-accredited, and Leona has led the way in getting everything required completed to make it happen."

Tetlow also sees Allen as a role model.

"Being a female, there's female issues that come up, and there's male issues that come up," Tetlow explained. "A lot of our instructors are male, and it's really nice to have that female figure there - especially when we're PTing (physical training). It gives me someone to look up to."

Tetlow is one of four female cadets graduating this weekend.

Only four of 20 cadets graduating this weekend are female, but that percentage is high compared with national figures.
Women occupy only 3.5 percent of the professional firefighting force nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In 2007, it was the 30th most unlikely profession for a woman to occupy.

In the Lake Tahoe Basin, women occupy 18 of the 268 full-time, part-time and seasonal firefighting positions. Despite the national averages, the male-to-female ratio in the basin still is low, but LTBFA coordinator Allen is doing her best to change that.

"I want to encourage females," she said. "It's one of the best jobs that all people can do."

After only two years, it appears Allen's encouragement has helped. Four women will graduate from the academy this weekend - accounting for 20 percent of the entire class, almost seven times the national average.

But Allen and the academy are fighting a tough battle: Gender imbalance in firefighting is rampant.

Firehouses have been referred to as fraternities.

A 2001 San Francisco Fire Department newsletter referred to female firefighters as "sisters without backbones," "little girls playing pretend fireman" and "job thieves."

Cadet Tetlow knows the stereotypes but hasn't let them stop her.

"It's not a profession for females," she said. "Little girls don't grow up wanting to be a firefighter. ... I certainly didn't."

But Tetlow's academy training has bolstered her confidence.

"I'm not worried about it at all," she said. "After the academy and being with our male instructors, the way they started out talking to us - it's the military way of doing things.

"Everyone gets treated fairly. ... I live with three guys from the fire academy. You get used to it. You can't take anything too seriously. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and you can't try to change that. I don't think, me as a female, as long as I'm pulling my weight, should ever affect their opinions - of course, there are some people that are born and raised to think wives should be at home cooking and cleaning - but I don't think that will ever be a problem for me. Never, after this academy - before it was, but not anymore."

Classmate Candace Heydarian agrees.

"They are really good in this academy," she said. "It's all very equalized. You do it. You do it. You have to do it - whether you're female or male, small or big. There are some smaller guys that are the same size as us females. It hasn't been discriminating against us at all."

Cadet Jenny Alustiza said her gender helps motivate her.

"I think that's part of the reason why I do it - the challenge," she explained. "I couldn't be happy just being in a hospital or being at a desk. I absolutely love the excitement."

However, "I think it's going to be tough," Alustiza said about life after the academy.

"It's going to be a guy's world, but I think it'll be all right. ... I think once I get in, and I just start doing it, I'll be really good at it. So, hopefully, that will be my reason not to get teased. ... But that's part of the fire service, too. You all live together, so you all tease each other - like a family."

The academy has bonded with the Lake Tahoe community - so much so, in fact, that without community support, the program might not exist.

The academy received donations from local businesses and agencies that surpassed $582,500. Donations range from hoses, SCBAs and turnouts to the academy's $350,000 fire engine.

Nine fire protection districts offer teachers and physical resources to the academy. South Shore businesses also have helped the program succeed: Meeks Lumber provides lumber for cadets to practice smashing, and Emerald Bay Towing Company has donated cars for cadets to practice extrication techniques. The donations allow the academy to give students firsthand experiential practice.

"I love the experience," said cadet Kelly Fitzpatrick. "I'm not as much (a) 'book' (person). I've tried to get on as many ride-alongs as I can so I can get hands-on (experience) in the departments."

The academy surely would be different if cadets were reading how to save a person trapped under a car, rather than practicing it in a real-world situation.

Coordinator Allen knows all too well how community contributions have aided her program.

"Our academy would not have gotten off the ground without the support of the community," she said. "The generosity of business owners and service organizations has allowed us to obtain equipment for training and scholarships for individual cadets. We are extremely grateful."

The efforts of the academy may also help keep the basin population up. Students who graduate from LTBFA are more likely to receive jobs in the basin, explains SLTFD Fire Chief Lorenzo Gigliotti. "Having completed the training in Tahoe, the candidate has lived and acclimated to the area and environment. This helps the candidate and the employer as they avoid most of the environmental challenges found in the hiring process by having to relocate and adjust to the area. Secondly, the program is administered and taught by local fire professionals who offer local insight into the training and the practical application. Through hiring experience with candidates produced by the LTBFA, we have noted these individuals seem to be more prepared and seem to perform better in the hiring process."

Lake Valley Fire Protection District also looks at graduates with a different perspective then those trained from outside the area.

"The academy graduates are given the opportunity to join the combined volunteer programs of our departments. This is our future hiring pool. Volunteers are put through weekly trainings as well as monthly 24-hour shifts. They get the training and experience to be eligible for future job opportunities," Lake Valley Fire Chief Jeff Michael explained.

The support from the community and fire agencies certainly is felt by the students.

"It feels like a giant family. It's good to know that you've got people backing you from all angles. Just from being in one academy, you've got all of these doors open for you," said cadet Candace Heydarian.

Jenny M. Alustiza
Dustin Alan Anino
Richard Ansel
Scott Blasser
Arthur Louis Brown
Sean C. Cariss
Mario Catanzaro
Steven L. Chaffin
Christopher J. Cosmi
Kelly Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Candace Heydarian
Damon P. Houle
Joseph Matthew Jones
Andrew Garciduenas Mills
Michael John Monaghan Jr.
Brian Palazzo
Merick Rickman
Carr Rieger
Kyle M. Sullivan
Sophie A. Tetlow

Next year's mandatory orientation for the fire academy will be held at 6 p.m. Aug. 7 in the Creekside Room (cafeteria) at Lake Tahoe Community College. For questions regarding the fire academy or the orientation, call (530) 541-4660, ext. 554, or send an e-mail to allenl@ltcc.edu.