Cherokee County
Fire & Emergency Services
Fire & Emergency Services
Explorer Post 469, a junior firefighter program of Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services for high school students, traveled to Gatlinburg, TN for the annual BSA Winterfest Competition.
The Explorer Post departed Thursday, February 8th for the 49th annual BSA Winterfest competition located in Gatlinburg, TN. The event took place February 9th and 10th at Rocky Top Sports World. Over 1600 explorers and venturers attended the event this year, traveling from nearly 20 different states across the US.
Explorer Post 469 placed 1st in the Pittsburgh Drill, 2nd in the EMS Combat Challenge, and competed well in other events against nearly 40 other fire and EMS teams that participated. These events involved the explorers performing interior search, removal of victims, hose deployment, emergency medical treatment, and much more.
Our explorers began training for this year’s Winterfest in the fall 2023. They averaged ten hours of training per week and were mentored by career and volunteer firefighters from CCFES.
Fire & Emergency Services Exploring is a hands-on program that exposes participants to many career experiences, leadership opportunities, and community service activities. The primary goals of the program are to help young adults choose a career path within fire and emergency services and to challenge them to become responsible citizens of their communities and country. For more information about Explorer Post 469 you can contact JoinCherokeeFire.com.