A contingency of the Zone 3 Fire Explorers and Advisors will be heading to the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. to compete at this year’s National Fire/Emergency Services Exploring Conference.

The Zone 3 Fire Explorer program is part of Learning for Life and the Washington ASsociation of Future Firefighters, and is made up of posts from Maple Valley, SeaTac, Tukwila, and Renton. It introduces young men and women to public safety careers, including being a firefighter, dispatcher, and paramedic. Explorer programs are open to youth 14-21 years of age.

Explorers support the fire departments and communities of of south King County. They provide rehabilitation at emergency scenes with water and food as well as checking firefighters’ blood pressures and heart rates. These activities ensure that firefighters are physically ready to continue emergency operations. The Explorers also participate in community activities such as Renton River Days, National Night OUt, and the International Festival at Angle Lake.

The conference runs from July 14-19 and includes team and individual competitions in a variety of categories like search and rescue, knot tying, and incident management.