Hands outstretched before him and crouching low, junior Lucas Geleitsmann works his way through the smoke-filled building. Panic briefly fills his chest as his thickly gloved hands lose feeling of the wall alongside him, and his vision is obscured by dark plumes of smoke.
Steeling himself, Geleitsmann crosses one last stretch of emptiness, and then… finally he can remove the wax paper from his goggles, and look across what was not an active fire, but simply a classroom.
Geleitsmann is currently the only Bowie student enrolled in the LBJ Early College High School’s firefighting program. He spends his 5th and 6th period at LBJ, taking on the intensive coursework necessary to be certified as a firefighter and EMT right out of high school.
“The firefighting program is important to me because it is giving me an opportunity to meet and interact with people who share a similar interest with me, and I am being exposed to a career that I might genuinely follow,” Geleitsmann said. “I think I’ll mentally get better at my leadership, and also teamwork.”
The LBJ Fire Academy is a course available to all high school students in the Austin independent school district (AISD) through the Student Sharing program, in which students are able to travel to other campuses for career and technical education specific courses. This includes classes such as Cosmetology, Video Game Design, and Automotive/Collision Repair. LBJ has the resources to offer students real interactive fire fighting training, including instruction from firefighters, authentic gear, and fire exposure.
“The most challenging part of the course so far has honestly been studying,” Geleitsmann said. “We get around two chapters every week or so, and then a test at the end of each. It’s a lot of studying, but then it’s also a lot of mental stuff, where we get to put on our gear, and they make us follow a path or go through obstacles.”
The Fire Academy has two pathways, the EMS and Fire classes, which start in junior year. Geleitsmann is in Fire I, and plans to attend Fire II, which upon completion of 728 hours guarantees Firefighting and EMT certifications.
“Lucas really enjoys the class, and he’s always talking about it,” Geleitsmann’s girlfriend Citlalli Garcia said. “He’s always very excited when he gets to take his equipment home, and he tries it out and runs in it, everything. He had the strength to be able to participate in activities over there because he trains a lot already, and he’s also very studious, he already knows how to prepare for the tests they give him.”
At this point in the school year, Geleitsmann’s class has covered topics dealing with ladders, radio communication, forcible entry, and extinguishers. These lessons have laid the groundwork for the skills necessary for firefighting and are taught through normal instructional lessons as well as ‘skill days,’ which are special weekend events at the Pflugerville Fire Training Facility where students can practice what they’ve learned so far.
“Lucas has a strong sense of integrity and has always been interested in helping people,” Geleitsmann’s mother Denise Geleitsmann said. “When he was about four years old we saw a crash and his first instinct was to ask us if we should stop and help. He’s full of compassion and concern for others and wants to help people stay safe.”
The “Risk Management System” is a firefighting concept that Lucas has taken to heart, and plans to implement if he pursues firefighting. It’s a phrase that consists of “risk a lot to save a lot, risk a little to save a little,” and the expectation is that if there is the opportunity to save a life, a firefighter will risk their life to do so.
“There’s a lot of times when I’m not sure what to do exactly or might be afraid to do it, but if I just step in and help other people it really builds confidence that I need,” Lucas said. “Firefighting really just builds teamwork, everyone is helping each other.”
Lucas has been using the exercises at the Fire Academy, like practicing hanging off of ladders to reach windows and walking in full gear with vision covered by wax-paper, to overcome his fears of heights and claustrophobia. Through team exercises, Lucas believes he’s already making progress on this goal.
“I mainly like interacting with people, and with firefighting you basically build a family with everyone you work with, which I think is super cool,” Lucas said. “I would prefer actually going out and doing stuff rather than just sitting at a desk, which is the same with my interest in piloting. I would prefer to be flying somewhere, traveling.”
While Lucas has only recently been interested in becoming a firefighter, he has multiple other passions that came first. He has been fascinated with planes since a young age, runs the plane-spotting and photography Instagram account @aviation_lucas dedicated to his hobby, and had previously planned to be a pilot. Lucas has found a passion for daring careers, including storm chasing.
“We have been very excited at the prospect of him becoming a pilot and were surprised last year when he decided to apply to the LBJ Fire Academy,” Denise said. “I believe his interest in aviation and his love of travel are why he is interested in becoming a pilot, Lucas’ desire to help others is why he is interested in firefighting. He has actually never shown an interest in any other career except storm chasing.”
Lucas first became interested in firefighting after hearing the personal experiences from firefighters he knew through his parents or friends. His goal is to gain more leadership skills and confidence throughout the course, and by senior year to figure out his intended career path.
“I believe the Fire Academy will help Lucas develop leadership skills and confidence to try new things and be open to adventure,” Denise said. “We have a few friends who are firefighters and have seen how it can be a successful and rewarding career. That being said, we do acknowledge that it can be a dangerous career, as well as mentally and emotionally taxing.”
