Old Bethpage, N.Y. — July 23 — Two members of the East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company completed a week of hands-on firefighter training Thursday as part of Camp Fahrenheit 516 at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy.

Junior Captain Bradyn Lewis and Junior Lieutenant JJ Pensabene graduated from the 2026 program after spending the week training alongside junior firefighters from fire companies across Nassau and Suffolk counties.

According to the East Farmingdale Fire Company, Lewis and Pensabene were among 49 junior firefighters participating in this year's program.

Camp Fahrenheit 516 is operated by the Nassau County Junior Firefighters Association and is held annually at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy in Old Bethpage. The program gives young members an opportunity to work through hands-on fire-service evolutions under the direction of instructors.

Training during the week included two-minute drills, hose-handling exercises, ventilation, entry and search evolutions, flashover-simulator training and fire-dynamics instruction, along with other fireground skills.

The camp has historically included live-fire and practical training such as search and rescue, forcible entry, emergency evacuation procedures, ground ladders, fire extinguisher operations and live car and warehouse fires. Firehouse reported in 2023 that the program was designed with a strong hands-on component, with campers rotating through multiple evolutions during the week.

Camp Fahrenheit 516 was established through the Nassau County Junior Firefighters Association and Nassau County Fire Service Academy to give local junior firefighters access to advanced hands-on training without having to travel out of the area. The program has been held annually during the summer for more than a decade.