MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (WVLT) - In 1979, the Morristown Jr. Rescue Squad started as an opportunity to give kids 13 to 18 years old the chance to get an up close and personal experience as a first responder.

In the mid-2000s, the program stopped, but it was restarted a few years ago.

Leaders of the Morristown Rescue Squad accept 15 students each year and allow them to go out on certain emergency calls in ambulances and rescue squad trucks. The calls that Jr. Rescue Squad members are able to go on will be limited to make sure that teens won't be exposed to too much during the process.

Examples of calls they could join on would be certain car accidents or times when the squad has to respond to a home to help someone in need who may have fallen.

"We are a complete trade school because we start them with CPR and then train as a first responder, and then we can actually train on the EMS side as an emergency medical technical and an advanced emergency medical technician," said Meghan Sallah with the rescue squad.

This program helps give teens a better idea of what the career they're interested in looks like on a day-to-day bases, along with giving the department well-trained candidates when they turn 18 and are eligible to join full-time.

"Somebody who wants to help others, somebody who's open and willing to learn," said Sallah as to the kind of person they're looking for in the program.

Applications for the Jr. Rescue Squad are now open and will close at the end of this month.

Anyone wanting to apply can pick up an application at the Morristown Rescue Squad's office, located at 420 N. Jackson Street in Morristown.