Every morning at 6:30, cadets arrive to start training at the Allan Hancock College Fire Academy. For the next nearly 12 hours, they complete physical fitness training, classroom studies, and in-field exercises.
“These are long, long days,” the program’s coordinator, Leonard Champion, said. “Then when they get home, there’s studying to do. There’s preparation for the next day.”
Training grounds
Find more information about the Allan Hancock College Fire Academy at hancockcollege.edu. To see what it’s all about, follow on Instagram @ahc_fireacademy.
Attending the academy is like a full-time job, five days a week for 17 weeks. With a recent grant, cadets feel a little more like firefighters do on the job. For one, they can leave their gear at new rolling gear racks instead of taking it home every night.
“That makes it really convenient and simulates a firefighter coming to work,” Champion said.
Hancock’s Fire Academy accepted a $25,000 grant from the Cloverlane Foundation, a nonprofit that supports veterans and people with disabilities. The donation will also allow the training academy to purchase equipment including an auto extrication tool, also known as the jaws of life.
The 50-pound tool is a metal cutter powered by batteries. If a battery dies, it’s easy to pop another in to allow students to seamlessly continue working.
“A lot of agencies are going in that direction, and so we’re now able to put equipment in their hands to train with what they would see out on any agency that they go to,” Champion said. “They’re going to probably see these things. They’re going to be familiar with the tool and the equipment.”
Before buying the $15,000 cutter, cadets used jaws of life donated by local fire agencies, but some had lost power and needed maintenance. Champion said the grant is a “game changer moving forward.”
Money also went toward equipment like water bottles and gloves, which cadets would’ve had to purchase for themselves without the grant. Cutting out-of-pocket costs is huge for the trainees.
By supporting the Fire Academy, Cloverlane helps Hancock invest in the community’s future leaders. Many firefighters working for local agencies are graduates of the program.
When Champion went through the academy in the late 1980s, it looked a little different than it does now. It’s grown from 300 to 700 hours of training, and cadets now graduate with a dozen certificates citing their qualifications in various subjects. Some things remain the same, though.
“I remember that the staff were very professional,” Champion said. “They had clear expectations, and they laid out a vision of what the career was like, then what the academy required. The expectations, the discipline.”
Ultimately the program set him up well for a career with the Santa Maria Fire Department. He retired as chief in 2020.
Throughout his tenure, Champion remained closely tied with the Hancock academy, teaching classes and mentoring students. Now he serves as the program’s coordinator, overseeing the battalion class and the teachers.
Jon Hooten, executive director of college advancement, oversees the nonprofit arm of Hancock, helping direct financial support to programs that need it most. This is the first year the Fire Academy received a donation from the Cloverlane Foundation.
Hooten said it’s amazing what the cadets learn in a few months, and he gives credit to Champion’s “remarkable” leadership.
“[Champion] leads with both strength and compassion and a commitment to what the fire service is all about,” Hooten said. “He just brings so much knowledge, so much expertise but also a really contemporary understanding of what’s needed in this kind of public service.”
Highlights
• High schoolers are invited to apply for internships at the Lompoc Public Library to support the summer reading program and free lunch service. Interns will complete three hours of paid training in June and work three-hour lunchtime shifts from June 15 to July 31. Benefits include an hourly pay of $16.90, free lunches, and the development of important job skills. The first 30 applications will be considered. Submit at governmentjobs.com/careers/lompocca.
• Registration is open for teen activities at the Abel Maldonado Youth Center through the city of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department. The center offers crafting workshops on Wednesdays, a basketball tournament on Fridays, girls’ fitness classes on Saturdays, and a series for “prom-posal” preparation ahead of school dances. Students in grades six through 12 are welcome. Visit cityofsantamaria.org to register.
Reach Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in March 19 – March 26, 2026.