Reporter Sheryl Conn said the West Palm Beach Fire Department’s Junior Alerts program gave middle- and high-school students hands-on experience with firefighting basics, emergency medical care and teamwork during a session held in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club.

The program’s exercises included an air-alarm demonstration — “That loud noise is the sound a firefighter will hear if his breathing apparatus is running low on oxygen. When the air alarm goes off, it's time to get out,” Conn said — and a low-visibility mask drill in which students tried to navigate a simulated house fire by relying on muscle memory and teamwork.

A student who participated described the mask exercise: “It was dark, and we had to follow a host to the interest. It's very hard, because your vision is blocked, and and you have to really have to rely on muscle memory and teamwork.” The report said some students concluded firefighting “was probably not for them,” while organizers noted other students might pursue the field through programs such as the Palm Beach Lakes Fire Academy.

Organizers framed the Junior Alerts name as a nod to the historic Flagler Alerts, the city’s volunteer fire service founded in 1894 that used horse-drawn carts to carry hoses. The report identified the session as the program’s second year and emphasized the event’s role in giving local students a chance to evaluate firefighting as a possible career path.

The session was described as a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club and as including participants from the Palm Beach Lakes Fire Academy. The report closed with the line, “This is Sheryl Conn reporting for WPB TV.”

The event was presented in the report as an educational demonstration and youth recruitment opportunity; no formal decisions, votes or policy actions were mentioned in the transcript provided.