Ruscoe feels that the biggest challenge facing the instructors is creating a sense of teamwork among the students. Achieving this is critical, he said, because a volunteer firefighter is not always sent out on calls with the same group and must be able to work well with others in high pressure, dangerous situations.

Both Ruscoe and Lane stress that the class has been a major success so far, and Lane reported that all of the students have passed each test administered to date. More importantly, Ruscoe state that he has seen an improvement among firefighters in the area that really counts - in the community on real fire emergency calls.

"The training is paying off," Ruscoe said.

Both Ruscoe and Lane have been with the Moyock Fire Department since 1993, and hope that the academy will help make their jobs easier and make firefighting a safer endeavor for volunteers.

Though he would always like to have more paid professionals on his staff, Ruscoe understands the importance of the volunteer program as a crucial element to fire departments at all locations.

"This is our way of being able to give to the younger and newer firefighters," Ruscoe said. "I applaud the volunteers today, because it's a fire science now. The men and women who do this on their own time, they're true heroes."