COVINGTON, Ga. – The Covington Fire Department is looking for applicants for its second Citizen’s Fire Academy class. The free six-week course will provide citizens the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the fire service.

“We’re going to show them how to cut a car. We’re going to show them how to fight a fire. We’re going to show them some of the medical calls that we do and some of the training that we do for EMS. We’re going to show them a lot of the extra stuff too,” CFD Deputy Chief Joe Doss said.

Participants must be at least 18 years old and able to commit attendance to all six classes. The class is set to start Sept. 11.

The class is open to “anybody that wants to learn how the fire department works inside and out,” Jonathan Fuqua, of CFD fire marshal’s office, said. “Anybody that is interested in becoming a fireman, it’s a great opportunity for them as well.”

“Our goal is to get them involved in the community,” Doss said. “To show them not only do we go out and answer the car wrecks and all the messy, gory calls that we get into, like fires and EMS calls, but we’re also a part of the community and we try to help and we try to assist.”

Fuqua said academy participants will be able to go through some of the pre-hire tests and training as part of the course, but it is not guaranteed to help them in getting a job with the department.

The class is geared to clear up any misconceptions about the fire department or the fire service as a career.

“There’s a lot of misconceptions that firemen sit in recliners all day long unless they’re on a call, which is not true,” Fuqua said. “They train pretty much six to eight hours a day in the middle of running the calls they have to run.”

Anyone interested in participating in the upcoming class should email Fuqua at jfuqua@cityofcovington.org. Registration for the class closes Monday.