A fire to start off the new academic year

For 120 Muscovites, the new academic year started off... with a fire. On Monday, Moscow's Firefighters' College organized a meeting and a firefighting competition on its grounds, reported the Center of Public Relations of the State Firefighting Service.

The competition, which featured the rolling and unrolling of fire-hoses and climbing of the fire-ladder, was held in the presence of Russian Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu and other emergencies ministry officials.

The VIP guests were shown around an exhibition of firefighting equipment and familiarized themselves with the college's educational program.

The Moscow Firefighters' College, which opened in 1999, is the city's only educational establishment that trains professional firefighters. According to its director, Mikhail Tsukerman, it currently numbers 380 students. "Our kids study general subjects as well as specialized ones," he said. In the course of studies, young people practice their skills in the firefighting services of the Russian capital, studying thus the basics of fire safety and acquiring firefighting experience.