The
purpose of the Clark County Fire Department’s Explorers Program is to expose
young men and women (ages 16 to 21) to the fire service. It offers an excellent
opportunity for its members to decide if this is a career they’d like to
pursue.
The fire service is a strict paramilitary organization, so is the Explorers
Program. Members are expected to adhere to all the standards of dress, personal
hygiene and behavior set forth by the Clark County Fire Department.
Getting
started is simple. Prospective new members need only show up at the next
Saturday morning meeting at 7:30 am. They must be dressed in jeans, with a
belt, a white T-shirt with no markings and running shoes. They must be
clean-shaven, with no earrings or visible piercing.
All
meetings are held on Saturdays at the Clark County Fire Training Center. The
Training Center is located at 4425 W. Tropicana Avenue. It's the southeast
corner of Tropicana Ave and Arville Rd, across from the Orleans Hotel and
Casino (
map).
Meetings start promptly at 8:00 a.m., and will be approximately five hours
long. Members arriving late will be denied entrance.
Attendance at these meetings is essentially mandatory although excused absences
will be considered (school, CCFD events, some family matters). All excused
absences have to be approved by Platoon TAC Officers. Unexcused absences are
considered “no call, no show.” Two (2) “no call, no shows” in a one-year period
will constitute grounds for dismissal from the Program. You must make up
excused absence times by volunteering on a one-hour to one-hour basis within 30
days or it will become an unexcused absence.
Explorers must maintain a minimum test average of 80%. Test scores of less than
80% will result in the Explorer being counseled on how to improve. If a third
failing grade occurs, then the Explorer will be demoted. On the fourth offense,
the Explorer will be asked to leave the Program.
Physical ability will be benchmarked on a quarterly basis. Explorers are
expected to show progress in all areas of the physical ability test. The fire
service is a very demanding physical profession; therefore, if the Explorer
does not show progress from test to test, they will be counseled progressively
with a policy of third offense dismissal from the Program. Appropriate physical
conditioning cannot be achieved once every two weeks; therefore, a consistent,
self-motivated physical program will be essential for success.
Community service and volunteer time are vital parts of the Clark County Fire
Department Explorers Program. Explorers will be required to volunteer a minimum
of four (4) hours per month. Explorers can either volunteer within or outside
of the fire department but all times must be documented.