LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men's basketball learned first hand that leadership, teamwork and culture are not just qualities for victory on the court, but are also integral to the success as the Jayhawks took an interactive field trip to Station 5 with the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Department (LDCFM) on Tuesday.
The Jayhawks opened the day in the classroom learning about the history of the LDCFM and that many times college athletes will pursue firefighting careers. The qualities individuals learned as student-athletes carry over to the leadership and teamwork conducted in fire service work.
The group then moved to Station 5's training center bay where they learned about cardiac arrest and then participated in demonstrations for CPR and ZOLL led by the Station 5 crew.
Next, the Station 5 crew took the Jayhawks to the training tower, where they learned numerous firefighter skills such as redeploying charged hoses to a designated location. The players then rescued manikins from a makeshift burning building. Then, the student-athletes carried irons and other tools three floors and worked with others on the ground to hoist more gear in what would be a burning situation.
Finally, when done, the players assisted in placing the items used back into a service mode.