Riding along in a fire truck and shadowing first responders. Those are just some of the experiences one local high school student is getting the last two weekends.
Claudia Delgado has been shadowing the firefighters at Jackson County Fire District 5 as part of her senior project at Phoenix High School.
"It's crazy," Delgado said. "It's not what I expected. I just expected them to be putting out fires but it's a lot more complicated and intense than that."
The fire station seemed like the perfect fit for Delgado.
"Well I wanted something to do with law enforcement or justice system," she said. "Our school police officer directed me here because growing up, I wanted to be a firefighter."
Engineer Jimmy Johnson said Fire District 5 encourages students to be involved in these kinds of programs.
"We usually have a handful of kids every year that like to come down," Johnson said. "A lot of people don't know about it and so once they get an idea that they can be part of the crew, a lot kids jump on it."
Delgado gets to feel like part of the crew during these visits including the relaxing times in the firehouse and sitting next to the other firefighters in the engine to go on each call.
"If we're eating a meal, they join us there," Johnson said. "If we're going on a call, they join us there. If we're cleaning the bay floors, they like to help us there too so we just try to include them in all aspects of our daily routine so they get a fair view and a full understanding."