Firefighters in training took to the water on Thursday during the San Luis Obispo County Fire Department's Surf Rescue class.
The agency requires that its participants pass the rescue class before they can officially start the training program.
During the class, students had to successfully swim around the pier in Avila Beach.
SLO County Fire Captain Nicholi Mackewicz told KSBY that Thursday's event prepares trainees to serve the community.
"There's an expectation that they're going to have high-quality service from their fire department," Mackewicz said of SLO County residents. "And that's what we aim to do, is to be able to train our employees to make sure that we are ready to go if there's ever an emergency and the public needs us to respond."
Those who finish the training program will be helping SLO County Fire respond to nearly 15,000 emergencies a year, according to the agency's website.
