Applications are open for the San Francisco Fire Youth Academy

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Antoine Davis, a Captain with the San Francisco Fire Department and the program director of the San Francisco Fire Youth Academy remembers getting the news: One of his students had saved someone’s life at a shopping mall by performing the Heimlich maneuver.

“Not only was he able to identify that someone was choking,” Davis said, “he jumped into action, and it worked.” 

For five years, Davis, 31, has been training cohorts of around 20 kids, aged 14 to 18 years old as part of the Youth Academy’s free 15-week program, which takes place every fall at 4936 Third St.

The free after-school program, which began as a project of the San Francisco Black Firefighters Association, attracts a diverse group of kids from all over the city interested in careers in firefighting and EMS.

The program is designed to teach life-saving skills and build life-long relationships and a sense of community among participants.

“Team work, working together, cooking; we eat together every Saturday as a family when we’re together,” said Davis.

It was that sense of camaraderie that attracted 35-year-old Anthony Miller to join the San Francisco Fire Department five years ago. Miller works at Fire Station 17 in the Bayview, and is the corresponding secretary for the S.F. Black Firefighters Association.

Davis is also the president of the San Francisco Black Fire Fighters Association, which was established in 1972 to push back against discriminatory practices within the SFFD, and to support  the recruitment, hiring, promotion, and training of Black and minority firefighters.

In 1970, there were only four Black firefighters out of 1,800 uniformed personnel. Today, there are 181 Black firefighters. 

Latinx, Filipinx, Black and Asian people make up 50 percent of the fire department’s employees, and women accounted for 17 percent of the department’s workforce in 2022. 

Davis said the organization wants to have a greater presence in the city’s high schools.

“The idea isn’t to teach them to be a firefighter, but we use the construct of the fire service to teach them soft skills,” said Davis.

Davis said participants in the fire academy learn skills used in the fire service, such as time management, stress management, and how to deal with adversity. “We hold them accountable for their actions.”  

The youth academy also offers such courses as financial literacy, interview prep, and resume building.

Davis and Miller said they’re proud and feel the love of the Bayview community.

“I love the Bayview, I love the people, I love the community, I love the opportunity, I love the grit,” said Davis. “Nothing is given to you in the Bayview. Everything is earned, and it’s a respect that comes with that.”

It’s that love Davis said he wants students to learn and reciprocate in their communities.

“Taking pride in your community and cleaning up the street, helping the person that you see might not have it and be a little down,” he said; “it’s about taking care of each other, it’s something we really instill in the students of the youth academy.”

The application for the Youth Academy is currently open to all San Francisco residents 14 to 18 years old, and is free of cost. The application will close on Aug. 11.