Fire ignites fear in most people, but for senior Sailor Kensrue, becoming a Fire Cadet last June was the spark that ignited her passion for serving her community.
Through the 10-week Fire Cadet Trainee Academy hosted by the Orange County Fire Authority, Kensrue trained alongside other participants aged 14 to 21 in foundational firefighting skills. Each week, participants spent three hours learning to throw ladders, quickly put on gear, memorize knots and pull hoses.
Kensrue had always been interested in emergency response, but the Fire Cadet program inspired her to apply her passion professionally.
“Sailor is somebody that a lot of people turn to for help in class,” science teacher Jacqueline Tran said. “She goes out of her way to help others even when she doesn’t need to.”
After completing the final exam in the 10th week of training, Kensrue began participating in ride-alongs, where Fire Cadets accompany in-service fire crews for 12 to 24 hours. During one call, Kensrue helped bandage a woman’s cut thumb, then noticed the woman’s dog wandering in the street and brought it to her.
“Seeing her be comforted by petting her dog definitely had an impact on me,” Kensrue said. “Even the little things give people comfort in stressful times, and I’m able to be a source of that comfort.”
Though such moments were fulfilling, Kensrue was still met with challenges beyond the physical training. According to Kensrue, as the only girl and the youngest program participant, she felt looked down upon by her peers. Unwilling to let others dictate her capabilities, Kensrue worked hard and was quickly promoted to captain.
“For me, it was about faking it until you make it. If you don’t have the confidence, just act confident, and one day, you will feel that way,” Kensrue said. “I was able to overcome that by acing all the tests, and they started to understand that I was just one of them.”
Her abilities shined at the California State Fire Association’s Fire Explorer Muster on Feb. 23. This annual competition tests the endurance, skill and teamwork of Fire Cadets and explorers from Southern California.
In her favorite event, the Bucket Brigade, teams passed buckets of water down a line, which was how fires were put out before fire engines were invented. As the last team to compete, Kensrue and her team raced against a team of fire chiefs and captains.
“We barely filled our bucket first, so it was a super tight race,” Kensrue said. “Our entire OCFA cadet program gathered around us and jumped up and down, cheering, slapping our helmets.”
Kensure said that her advisors, firefighters Greg Lee and Kurt Frescas, have been pillars of support throughout the program. Lee always encouraged her in the program and now continues to support her goals outside of fire service.
“He gave me a mantra that he uses whenever he’s doing a task, which is ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast,’” Kensrue said. “It sounds funny, but it actually works if you’re panicking about something. It’s helped me in more than just fire service.”
While the Fire Cadet program exposed her to the technical side of firefighting, Kensrue discovered her passion for the medical realm of emergency response.
“The program has definitely inspired me to continue down a path that helps people survive and feel better in some of their worst days,” Kensrue said. “It taught me that if there’s any part of you that wants to do something outside of your comfort zone, just do it.”
