Teenagers in Newton Abbot could soon be in training to become the firefighters of the future after Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service announced plans for a Fire Cadet Centre in the town.The service already has cadet training centres in Frome and Taunton and is looking to provide a similar facility in Devon. Due to its location and facilities, Newton Abbot Community Fire Station in The Avenue has been chosen as one of the proposed sites where the project could be expanded successfully. The cadets provide opportunities for boys and girls aged 11 – 17 who learn how to use fire and rescue equipment and work together as a team. The activities undertaken are based on the job of a professional firefighter and involve using hoses, climbing ladders, operating pumps, giving first aid and dealing with mock emergencies.Cadets are also issued with uniforms and training kit which they are expected to maintain in tiptop condition.Their code of conduct is based upon the high standards of self-discipline expected within the adult service.To provide the new cadets with a suitable base the fire service has applied to install a temporary office and equipment storage building in the southern corner of the existing fire station site close to the training tower. Newton Abbot deputy mayor, Cllr Carol Bunday, welcomed the news.'Not only am I deputy mayor but also the behaviour support coordinator at Coombeshead College and I am all for providing facilities for our youth,' she told this paper.'Although I will have to see the full details of the planning application before I can give it my wholehearted support, let me say this.'We need to get our young people involved in the community, to give them a sense of ownership.'They face the challenges of drugs and drink, of feeling they have nowhere to go other than hang around on street corners.'I'm also involved with the air training cadets and there's one lad I know who has had problems with discipline at school. Now he's joined the ATC he's loving it because for the first time he's learning about boundaries.'He's also realising that none of us can always just get what we want, we have to work for it.'In principle the prospect of having a fire cadet service in Newton Abbot is excellent.'A decision by planners at Teignbridge Council is expected by the end of the summer.