Could the Clay Fire Department's newest firefighters be 10 year olds? Not exactly.  But some area kids are getting their first look at what it takes to go through the training.

It's all part of the annual fire camp. Thirty kids between the ages of ten and thirteen attended this year's camp, but in the crowd sat one face that was a little bit older.  Eric Kraft is a new firefighter with the Clay department, and just five years ago, he was a camper himself.

"I've had everything from toy fire trucks to scanners, t-shirts, everything you can imagine. I've always been a fire buff I guess you could say," said Kraft.

He's outgrown the toy trucks, but he still remembers his camp experience. "One morning they got a medical call and we were standing out in the bay and got to see them pull out with sirens on and everything and that was really fun," Kraft recalls.

As this year's campers practice various drills, Kraft says it's their turn to build similar memories. Rebecca Brewer, 10, practices attaching a hose to a hydrant and boasts "it's easy." But she does say the equipment is "heavy, really heavy. I thought it would be light."

Not only did campers get hands-on experience with the tools of the trade, they got to see firsthand what firefighters, beyond putting out fires.

Brewer says, "They do other stuff like car crashes and buildings, they have to get people out."

Other campers were a little more familiar with the duties of a firefighter.  Like Tyler Melser, whose dad works for the Clay Territory Fire Department.

Lt. Ron Melser said, "He's [Tyler] seen me fight fires, he's seen me extricate, but he's never got to do that kind of stuff. At this camp he gets to do that."

So what did Tyler like? "Putting out the fire with the fire extinguisher. It was easier than I thought it was." He added, "I feel like I'm going to work with my dad."

For Kraft, his childhood hobby is now his work and he hopes one of the campers will share his  dream. "I knew sometime I'd end up with a helmet and coat," said Kraft.

The campers have been in camp all week. They've been able to watch the medical helicopter land, witnessed a vehicle extrication, cheered at the firefighter combat challenge and they met the arson K-9.

Reported by www.fox28.com