A hiker lost in the wilderness; a rescue team dispatched to find her. But this wasn’t an ordinary rescue team or rescue mission.

It was a group of ninth- and tenth-graders on a mission that culminated a week of training and education. They took part in a mock scenario after learning what a career in emergency services, like fire, EMS and police, can be. 

Team leader Jaden Washington said his family inspired him to be here.

“I decided to do this cause I want to become a firefighter later in life," he said. "My dad was a fireman. Both my grandfathers were firemen.”

On this day, his team used their skills to track a lost hiker, apply a neck brace and dress her wounds and eventually get her out in a Stokes basket. 

“We had everything from fire extinguishers, search and rescue, CPR," said Sullivan County's Public Safety Deputy Commissioner John Hauschild.

The week included a lot of collaboration from local and statewide agencies. 

"Law enforcement was here with their drone and forced entry equipment and K-9 dogs and explosives, aviation," Hauschild added. 

The hands-on training also served to introduce kids to the possibility of volunteering amid a push around the state for more help for local fire and ambulance departments. But Hauschild said it's more than just that.

“What they learned here this week, the experiences that they're taking away, is life," he said. "It's for life. They can use it in everyday life.” 

Today’s mission was a successful one, getting the "hiker" out of the woods and into an awaiting ambulance. Tenth-grader Celeste D’Andrea said she hopes to one day be a volunteer EMT and ultimately, a pediatrician. 

“I learned a lot about everything," she said. "I learned how much stuff goes on behind scenes that I didn't know goes on.”