Applications open for firefighter scholarship

The deadline is Dec. 5 to apply for the Poplar Bluff Fire Department Memorial Scholarship for Three Rivers College.

The first scholarship will be awarded in honor of Walter Weaver, Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Mike Moffitt said.

“He’s the only Poplar Bluff firefighter killed in the line of duty. From there, we will do it in memory of other firefighters who have passed away,” he said.

Firefighters are awarding one scholarship this year, but hope to award two scholarships in the years to come.

Those interested in the scholarship must fill out an application and write an essay about a Missouri Firefighter line of duty death.

Moffitt said, “We’ve developed a scholarship fund. We want to try to devote all of our fundraising efforts toward that. This also will help promote emergency services careers with the college. We want to encourage young people from this area to pursue a career in emergency services, whether it be here in Poplar Bluff or somewhere else. We’d like them to stay here.”

“Our department, I’m hoping, is going to grow in the next few years,” he continued. “We want to promote it and make it an attractive career field for people of our area. Our goal is to send two individuals through our fire science program at Three Rivers a year. We will have them submit an essay to us and we will have our own review board. We’ll try to determine who will get the scholarship.”

The scholarship will pay for TRC classes Firefighter I, Firefighter II, and HazMat Awareness. The program begins Jan. 17.

Anyone already enrolled in the upcoming classes may apply for the scholarship. Anyone who is not enrolled should check with the college regarding enrollment requirements.

An application can also be picked up at Fire Station 1 on South Broadway or it should be printable from the Poplar Bluff Fire Department scholarship Facebook page.

The essay and application maybe return to fire station one, 300 S. Broadway, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 or email to pbfdhq@pbfire.org.

Information about the Missouri Firefighter Line of Duty Death may be found on: NIOSH, FireHero.org(Missouri achieves), NFPA.org or USFA.fema.gov.

The applications and essays received by the deadline will be reviewed by a committee who will select an applicant to come in for an interview, reference check and background check.

The Fire Science program at Three Rivers is a hybrid of online curriculum and hands-on training. With this program, students only need to be on campus one day a week for skills training. An advisor can help you get enrolled and work out an education plan that is right for you. Call 877-879-8722, email enrollnow@trcc.edu or visit trcc.edu/apply/ to get started.