CAMARILLO, Calif. — While many school districts inch closer to in-person classes, Oxnard College's Fire Academy took only a few weeks to figure out a hybrid format and get safeguards to bring students back to campus.
During the Woolsey fire, Kaityln Bailey was a college student. She helped evacuate her dorm at Pepperdine University, and she brought her classmates to her family's home in Ojai. Yet becoming a firefighter didn't cross her mind until much later.
Bailey is currently training at Oxnard College's Fire Academy.
"They're going to try to push you to your limits here because this is when it's OK to fail," Bailey said.
Last year was her first fire season. She was the rookie and the only woman on Santa Barbara County's hand crew at the Creek fire. She was considered seasonal help.
One of her teachers, Tami Crudo, retired from the Ventura Fire Department after almost 20 years. Figuratively, she's still putting out fires.
"I have, yes, a strong will to manage chaos, and it's almost challenging. It's like a quick game of erase that you have to figure out how you're going to plan," Crudo said.
Many other instructors simultaneously work for fire departments. It's hard because those on active duty keep getting called away to fight fires or because their local firefighter ranks are depleted due to COVID-19.
Zachary Le is a recent graduate of the fire academy program. He came back to help teach and cover the staffing holes.
While they've instituted a ton of new COVID-19 safety policies, staying open also depends on each student and what they choose to do when they're not in class. Just like at a fire, you have to know your partner has your back.
"There's a risk that someone is going to contract COVID and unintentionally spread it to one another. But that's when it comes back to the idea of trust, and you have to trust that everybody is going to do what is best not only for themselves but for those around them," Le said.
There are a limited number of firefighter training programs in California. Delays or school closures could alter the state's ability to deal with fire season, which is a 24/7 all-hands-on-deck situation as it is.
While not all the students are eligible yet, the assistant dean of public safety at Oxnard College, Matthew Jewett, said all the instructors had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"The students here at Oxnard College do make a huge sacrifice to come to this program," Jewett said.
The Bellwether College Consortium, a national organization of community colleges, recently named Oxnard college one of three winners for its Project RECOVER, a plan they implemented to bring students back to campus.