Life for the Nassau County Fire Service Academy trainees who got a private thank-you from President Trump last week is far from glamorous — but just strive to extinguish their drive.

The volunteer trainees spend grueling weeks dousing set-up blazes and crawling around in pitch-black, close-quarter indoor mazes at 120 levels or larger to put together to hold Long Islanders secure when they want it most.

“I don’t call it brave. I call it committed,” Chief Instructor Paul Wilders informed The Post.

New York Post reporter Alex Mitchell participated in firefighter coaching drills at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy in Old Bethpage on Aug. 18, 2026. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

“If we teach you how to do it safely … it’s not about feeling brave anymore. It’s about feeling confident.”

The Post spent a current day in the life of the all-volunteer drive, which deploys graduates across Nassau’s 70 departments after what’s often three hours of once-a-week coaching in hellish temperatures for about 4 months.

The group’s work is so commendable that Trump acknowledged its members with a wave and shout-out “thank you” during a go to to the Nassau County Police Academy on Friday to bolster GOP gubernatorial hopeful and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

“We have people from other counties come to our academy because the training is so realistic,” said Wilders, also commissioner of the North Merrick Fire Department.

Days after the presidential go to, departments from all over Nassau banded collectively for search and rescue during a uncommon Long Island twister and to help individuals trapped in their vehicles on flooded roadways and parking tons during Thursday evening’s wild storms.

Paul Wilders, chief teacher of the Nassau County Fire Academy, said the preparations are about making the trainees really feel “confident” when responding to emergencies. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

The next technology of heroes work in all sorts of environments at the Old Bethpage facility, from homes to getting on ladder vans for high-floor buildings, simulated burning warehouses and boats and an precise LIRR automotive for prepare fires.

Medical and hazmat coaching are also main components of certification, as Wilders is phasing in coaching for more fashionable points such as fires spawned by electrical automobiles. 

The Nassau academy also stands out for utilizing “live fuel packages” for coaching, which are blazes that have to be bodily extinguished inside and out of its black-out buildings. 

A coaching constructing used by the Nassau County Fire Academy. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

Wilders said firefighter trainees from other counties journey to Nassau to use the sensible coaching amenities. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

“We light these buildings on fire,” he said of the non-combustible coaching buildings.

Other academies sometimes use a gas-fed gas “which doesn’t produce the same type of smoke, doesn’t produce as much heat, and also can be shut down with the flip of a switch,” he said.

Feeling the burn — in the first-person

Even the simple stuff for trainees is arduous for odd individuals such as myself.

I realized that rapidly — proper after tugging on almost 40 kilos of tools and a helmet. 

The gear did not even embrace a self-contained respiratory equipment or heavy metallic instruments such as a halligan bar used to save lives in real-deal conditions.

Wilders educating Mitchell how to put out a fireplace on the coaching grounds. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

Wilders tasked me with placing out a diesel and fuel fireplace on a pile of picket pallets utilizing a almost 2-and-a-half-gallon water can, which you carry in one hand and spray with the other.

Getting within a few toes of the taking pictures flames feels like placing your head next to a lit stovetop, and in August 85-degree warmth, you’re already dripping head to toe in bunker gear before feeling that fireball on your uncovered face.

It was warmth like I never felt before, and that got my coronary heart racing as I raced the clock to spray the close to 10-foot blaze.

And dousing one spot does not assure that more fireplace won’t pop up again, unlike how it appears on TV and in the motion pictures.

Watching these flames reignite in a cut up second as your water runs out — even in a safely managed atmosphere — is actually intense.

It makes you think about what could occur if dependable individuals such as Wilders aren’t there for back-up.

The reward for placing down the fireplace was heading to smoke coaching across campus, where — fortunate me, already drenched in my T-shirt and shorts beneath the gear — got to trudge alongside in the heavy boots and pants.

The resistance felt like wading through a few inches of snow while toting heavier-than-usual soccer shoulder pads on high from the pulling suspenders.  

You actually really feel that gear weighing you down every minute it’s on, and that’s what actually got to me more than doing the duties at hand.

Mitchell had to put on 40 kilos of tools plus a helmet. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

While I was already gassed and coming down from the exhilaration of placing out flames, Wilders had me crawl into an fully darkish constructing entrance utilizing artificial and non-toxic smoke simulations.

Since I have a beard, it’s against laws to use an air pack for the actual stuff. 

Trying to do that and hold my bearings while fatigued made me understand one factor: Thank goodness nobody is counting on me to save their life as we speak. 

Wilders and Mitchell after the robust coaching workouts. Stefano Giovannini for NY Post

Wilders has the proper individuals for that.

He informed me recruitment numbers are “slowly creeping up” after New York fireplace officers warned of concerning lows in early 2026.

“Nassau County alone, we graduated about between April and June about 180 to 200 firefighters,” he said. 

“Now we just graduated, through July and August, about another 90.”