Winter Springs High School to get fire academy with $2.7M grant

Seminole County Firefighter and EMT Logan Terrell knew he didn’t want to sit at a desk all day. 

Terrell, who grew up in Seminole County and graduated from Oviedo High School in 2021, went to lunch one day after church with a neighbor who worked for the fire department. The neighbor suggested going into the fire service as a career. 

“Growing up playing sports, it’s a tight group of people, that’s why firefighting stood out,” Terrell said. “Those people are there for you all the time no matter what.” 

The pathway Terrell took to finding the fire service could get easier for future Seminole County students. Seminole County Public Schools has gotten a $2.7 million grant to develop the Bear Brigade Fire Academy at Winter Springs High School.

The plan is to make it easier for students to start as freshmen in high school and, by their senior year, be taking dual enrollment classes at Seminole State College. You can read the school board’s application here, where the school originally asked for $3 million. 

“It’s a great idea to give another career choice and give people a head start in a career,” Terrell said. “I would have taken it. For sure.”

The Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive Grant Program grant from the Florida Department of Education is the largest single-program grant in SCPS history, the district reported. In total, the Florida Department of Education awarded $24 million in workforce development grants this year. 

Winter Springs High School is already home to programs in criminal justice, emergency response and teaching. The plan is to hire a permanent instructor for the program, and what’s known as the public service academy might get renamed. 

Seminole County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Shawn Gard-Harrold told Oviedo Community News the program at Winter Springs High School is considered a “program of emphasis,” and not a magnet school. That means students could apply to the program, but transportation isn’t provided. 

During a joint board workshop with SCPS and Seminole State College, Gard-Harrold said they are still working out what kind of construction – likely a renovation of existing facilities – will be needed to house the program. 

“Now, all of our facilities won’t be ready (by fall 2025),” Gard-Harrold told the joint board workshop. “But you don’t start putting out fires on day-one of fire academy. There’s a lot to learn prior to students getting engaged.”

Editor’s note: You can listen to audio of this board workshop here, which Oviedo Community News obtained through a public records request.

According to the application to the state for grant funding, students who complete the Academy’s program will get a “preferred sponsorship” into Seminole State College’s Fire Academy upon graduation.

SUBHEAD: The growing need for more firefighters

There’s a need for more firefighters and paramedics in Central Florida. 

According to a white paper from the Florida Fire Chiefs Association and the Florida State Fire Marshall’s office, the East Central Florida region – which includes Seminole County – had 192 vacant positions as of Feb. 1, 2023. Those same departments were projected to need 764 new positions in the next five years. 

Seminole County Fire Department Deputy Chief Matt Hettler said his department currently has 18 vacancies – and is expecting to need 50 to 70 new positions in the coming five years, because of retirements and adding a new fire station.

Hettler said Seminole State College only produces about 100 graduates per year, and his agency is competing with every other agency in Central Florida – and beyond – for those graduates. 

In short, it’s getting harder to fill those jobs. 

“Where we’ve had success is people who live within the community or have family roots here or live here with their immediate family,” Hettler said. “It keeps them grounded and they stay within the area.” 

People like Terrell, who grew up in the area. 

Terrell said he wants to keep serving the place where he grew up. 

“My eyes were set on Seminole County since I started because I wanted to be a help to the community I grew up in,” Terrell said.