TRIAL BY FIRE
Manteca’s youngest firefighters set to graduate new hire academy
By ELISE DELEO
The Tower
With tanks of compressed air on their backs and surrounded by members of their team, young firefighters with the Manteca Fire Department are ready to take action. They rush into a new training facility - stacks of black containers in the shape of a building - eager to save lives.
The sounds are all too realistic. The tanks of air beep. Radios crackle, as they unfold and drop ladder against the building.
Minutes later, a body comes out of the window, laying prone against the ladder and stabilized by harness. A firefighter, just five weeks into the New Hire Academy, gently and cooly slides the victim to bring it to the ground.
Everyone is safe.
The new hires remove their masks and gather in a circle in front of the training center, assessing their performance in this "make or break" exercise. At the end of this six-week intensive training program, consisting of practice and classroom, these students will be pinned and officially welcomed into the Manteca Fire family.
Like CTE programs in Manteca Unified School District, the goal of the fire academy is to prepare its new hires for the realities of the field that they will soon face.
During their social media takeover on April 17, instructor James Burns and his multimedia class had the chance to observe the VEIS operational testing. VEIS stands for: Vent (venting a window for access), Enter (entering a potentially hostile environment), Isolate (closing off the room to improve survivability), and Search (conducting a primary search).
“The outcome you saw — a successful rescue of an unconscious victim from a second-story window — is a strong example of the skills we train for,” said Aimee Rubio, executive assistant of the Manteca Fire Department.
The Manteca Fire Department tested the new hires in other ways, too.
Manteca Firefighter Tyler Ellks is interviewed by The Tower about the fire academy (Raclif Figueroa/The Tower)
New hires were tasked with crawling through a tight space without becoming tangled in wires, cables, and line. They climbed stairs in their turnouts while carrying equipment. They rose before the sun to run the streets of Manteca, a single-file show of honor as the leader carried the MFD flag. And, they breached windows with training glass, learning forced entry in case of danger.
Everything is made so firefighters are prepared for real interventions.
Being a firefighter is often the dream job of children across the world, but how do you make this dream a reality?
Rubio spoke about the selection process.
“The academy you observed on Friday consists of nine newly hired firefighters. Candidates must meet a range of qualifications to be considered for the role,” said Rubio.
According to Governmentjobs.com, there is a long list of requirements to become a firefighter, such as knowledge about techniques, methods, and materials but also abilities like setting up and operating pumps, searching for victims in hazardous environments, and performing heavy physical labor and climbing stairs and ladders.
Among the new hires of the academy is a familiar face: Tyler Ellks, a former Manteca High student who took part in the Health Occupations Students of America program in high school. Cheryl Behler was his Career and Technical Education health science teacher.
“It helped me a lot,” Ellks said. “Just getting my foot in the door was a great opportunity. I think the program does a really good job at exposing students to what the professional world had to offer.”
In an Email to The Tower, Ms. Behler said, “This is a proud moment for Manteca High School and our community. Tyler’s success through the MHS Health Science Pathway highlights the importance of preparing students to serve and lead our Manteca community.”
Having received his diploma just before COVID hit, Ellks’ path to becoming a firefighter has not been easy.
“In 2019, Tyler Ellks was assigned to MFD after expressing his interest in the fire service to Ms. Behler. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to complete the program due to COVID-related shutdowns,” Rubio said. “Despite that setback, Tyler continued pursuing his goal by attending the Modesto Junior College Fire Academy. He was hired as a Reserve Firefighter in May 2023, later secured a full-time position with a neighboring agency, and ultimately returned to Manteca when we hired him in March 2026.”
This profession, however admired, remains rather misunderstood.
For Battalion Chief Sterrie McLeod, opening the doors of the fire station and communicating on social media is now a critical component of their day-to-day responsibilities.
“People weren’t exposed to what we were doing. I think that communicating with the public on social media or through a partnership like we did with the multimedia program is important,” said Chief McLeod. “Showing what the firefighters and the academy is doing can definitely help creating relationships.”
Despite the trials he has encountered, Ellks shows us that your dreams and goals are within your reach if you give yourself the time and the ability to achieve them.
Manteca Fire’s New Hire Academy is a training center for new recruits ... where the heroes of tomorrow prepare for one of the most useful professions in a community.