Souderton Student Shadows Firefighters In Honor of Grandfather

He has a long way to go to fill in the boots, but Alexander Armstead is already one of the team.

The soft-spoken 11-year-old sixth-grader at Souderton Charter School Collaborative has been shadowing firefighters at Fire Department of Montgomery Township for the past couple days as part of his school project.

"I wanted to go here," he said of his firehouse choice. "My grandpop was a firefighter, but he's retired now."

No doubt Alexander would warm the heart of former Philadelphia firefighter Louis Dent if he saw his grandson on Friday.

By the end of his experience, Alexander had everything but his own helmet—he had the knowledge of the parts of the fire engine truck, he had notes on how firefighters rescue people, he got an idea of the weight of the gear firefighters wear, he knew how to handle the fire hose, he got a ride in the bucket truck.

Alexander also accompanied FDMT to an evacuation fire safety drill at AES Clean Systems on Stump Road, where he got to pull the fire alarm.

He was advised it would be the first, and last, time doing such a thing (in a non-emergency situation).

"It's a memorable experience," he said. "They let me do a lot of things."

It was also an education for the Souderton student.

The Montgomery Township youth, son of Anthony and Gabrielle of Bedford Lane, is keeping his options open when it comes to a career choice. While it is one of the most common jobs a young boy has on his "When I Grow Up" wish list, a firefighter is far from Alexander's aspirations right now.

"I want to go to Harvard or Yale. I want to be a scientist," he said with a smile that brightened his face. 

But should he fall on wanting to save and protect his fellow neighbors, Alexander will surely remember the men and women of FDMT.

"They are really nice firefighters," he said. "I like how they help people do things and save people."

Gabrielle Armstead said Alexander had to pick a topic for a future class presentation. He then had to shadow the firefighters and collect data via photos and videos. Finally, Alexander will present his experiences to his class.

Armstead said Alexander also visited Fireman's Hall Museum in Philadelphia.

"He is getting some hands-on training," said his mom.

When he presents his experiences to his classmates and teacher, Alexander will have something to show off. Director of Fire Services Rick Lesniak presented Alexander with an FDMT T-shirt and certificate of participation.

Director of Fire Services Rick Lesniak said FDMT gets students shadowing paid and volunteer staff every once in a while. Last year, the department had a high school student working on a school project for a little over a month.

"He was interested in firefighting and then joined as a member," Lesniak said. "We're lucky we have the career staff here during the day that affords kids to experience the firefighting business."

"Others don't have the staff to provide those experiences," he said.

Stay tuned to another feature story on FDMT.