The Rocky Mount Fire Department has kicked off several efforts recently to reach out to area youth, including launching the Fire Explorer program.

The Fire Explorer program targets high school students who have an interest in learning more about public service. Dillon Grey Lassiter, 15, was the first to sign up for the program after learning about it through his father, who is a Rocky Mount fire captain.

“I was thrilled when I heard about it,” Lassiter said. “My number one goal is to be a fireman when I grow up.”

Summerlin said the program also is for teenagers who are unsure if a career in the fire service is what they want to pursue.

“How do you feel about helping people and helping your fellow man?” Rocky Mount fire Capt. Eric Summerlin said. “If you have a willingness in your heart, you like helping and doing things for others, this probably is a career you would enjoy because anytime we go on a call, we are there to provide a service to someone in need.”

Participants will learn about the wide range of calls firefighters respond to while learning about the equipment and skills used by fire crews. He said explorers also will be able to work toward doing a ride-along with firefighters.

“We are hoping to build a career base for young people while giving them skills they’ll need for life outside of the fire service,” Summerlin said. “We want to educate them on what it takes to be a firefighter, but we also want to talk about accountability, ethics, creating good moral character and how to stay out of trouble.”

Explorers are required to maintain a “C” average in school and have no criminal record. The program is run through the Boy Scouts of America and costs $20 to join.

Summerlin said interested teenagers from 14 to 18 years old are invited to attend an informational session at 6:30 p.m. Monday at fire headquarters at 101 S. George St.

Officials said they hope the explorer post, a new department Facebook page and Twitter feed will help reach the next generation of firefighters. Recruitment isn’t the sole purpose of using social media, though.

“We want to reach out to everybody,” Fire and Life Safety Educator Kim Wittig said. “Anytime we have a working fire or any other major incident that might interfere with traffic or something, we will post it. If nothing is going on within the department, we are going to take the opportunity to share safety tips and information on upcoming events.”

The fire department also added new pages on the department’s website. One page provides residents with information about scheduling public education events while another has a link to surveys.

“Anytime we deal with members of the public, whether it is on an EMS call or a fire call or at a public education event, we want them to go online and provide feedback on how it went,” Wittig said. “It will help evaluate the services we offer and tweak them to make them better.”

For more information on these services, go to www.rockymountnc.gov/fire.