Nathan Goree , left, and Fisher Lott experience what it’s like to wear a firefighter’s turnout gear. They are shown with firefighter Brandon Turrentine. | Clif Knight

Hartselle’s annual Fire Academy was deemed a record success on Thursday as more than 80 kids between the ages of 6 and 12 turned out at Sparkman Park’s pavilion area to experience what it’s like to walk in the shoes of a firefighter.

To simulate the training firefighters go through at a fire college, five activity stations were set up in the park, and everyone was given a hands-on opportunity to experience each one.

The kids lined up and took turns crawling through a tunnel, lifting and lowering a bucket filled with water, pulling a dummy through pylons, pulling and rolling up a fire hose and extinguishing a simulated fire on a monitor with the use of a fire extinguisher.

In addition, County EMS set up a display to demonstrate the equipment it uses and what its personnel do to help save lives when they respond to medical emergencies.

“We added the bucket pull and fire extinguisher simulator to change up things and make the academy more interesting for the kids,” said Lt. Lee Hemming, who directed the academy.

The fire extinguisher simulator was borrowed from the Baileyton Fire Department. Its monitor simulated a fire until it was extinguished by directing a stream of water from a fire extinguisher onto its surface.