In a display of communal reciprocity, the City of Carrollton has passed on a retired ambulance to the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District’s budding Fire Academy and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Training Program. The car, once a critical component of Carrollton Fire Rescue’s fleet, was handed over to give students of Creekview High School’s specialized programs a more immersive educational experience. As reported by the City of Carrollton, this ambulance is set to become a “rolling classroom.”
This collaboration came to life through an interlocal agreement between the City of Carrollton and CFBISD, inked back in September 2023. The ambition was to sculpt a student Fire Academy rooted in professionalism, combining high school and college coursework with post-educational training. Carrollton Fire Chief Michael Thomson explained that the idea to contribute a retired ambulance originated in 2024 following discussions to rework a storage space into a full-size engine bay. Despite this initiative, the ambulance had been retired in 2019 due to changes in COVID-19 protocols and subsequent alterations to CFR’s EMS education program.
The former frontline vehicle, now dated over two decades, has been refashioned internally to replicate the real-world conditions of emergency medical services. This provides students the opportunity to practice treating patients within the confines of an ambulance – a stark departure from the limits of static classroom learning. These practical simulations are invaluable, offering the aspiring firefighters and EMTs of Creekview High School a taste of the urgency and challenges that mark their chosen career paths…