Youth public service
Fire Camp
A Denton Fire Department summer day camp where local students learn about safety and service.
Programs
History, recognition, and youth learning.
Learn about Denton Fire Traditions' recognition and history work, the Kevin Perry Memorial Scholarship, and the Denton Fire Department's Fire Camp and Explorer Post 1291.
Denton's 1916 LaFrance apparatus from the motorized era.
Core programs
Heritage made useful
Explore history, recognition, the scholarship, and the Department's Fire Camp and Fire Explorers.
Recognition and ceremony
Awards Banquet
An annual celebration of service for firefighters, retirees, families, honorees, and community partners.
History and memory
Heritage archive
A public home for historical photos, stories, apparatus milestones, and the people who carried Denton's fire service forward.
Fire Camp
Fire Camp puts service in young hands.
The Denton Fire Department's Fire Camp introduces local students to safety, teamwork, and service.
Check the Department's Fire Camp page for its latest published dates and instructions.
Official program information
Check the current Fire Camp details
See what the Department has published about Fire Camp before making plans.
View Fire Camp detailsFire Explorers
Explorer Post 1291 introduces young people to the fire service.
The Denton Fire Department's Explorer Post 1291 gives young people fire service training, supervised by Denton firefighters.
Exploring began in 1935, when older Scouts were first called Explorers. The program took the name Exploring in 1959 and welcomed young women as full members in 1971. Since 1998, career Exploring has been run by Learning for Life, an affiliate of Scouting America, formerly the Boy Scouts of America. Today, Exploring posts serve young people ages 14 to 20, and fire and EMS posts mix classroom training with hands-on lessons.
Young people have helped Denton's firefighters for more than a century. In 1913, the department began hiring college students as firemen. In 1917, its members voted to accept six Boy Scouts “to do any duties assigned by the chief.”
Source for 1913 and 1917: an unsigned Denton fire history written around 1971, published by Denton History.
Chief Jack Gentry with the department's student firemen in front of Engine No. 12. Since 1913, Denton had hired college students to work as firemen and live at the station.
Official program information
When Post 1291 meets
The first and third Mondays of each month during the school year, at 5 p.m., at Denton Fire Station 7, 4201 Vintage Blvd.
Post 1291 is run by the Denton Fire Department. To join or ask about it, use the post's listing on the Exploring website.
See Post 1291 on ExploringScholarship
Kevin Perry Memorial Scholarship
A $2,000 educational award for a child of a current Denton Fire Department member, provided by Denton Fire Traditions and the Denton Firefighter's Association.
- Who can apply: a dependent of a current Denton Fire Department employee, in their senior year of high school or freshman year of college, with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, admitted to or planning to attend a trade program or a 2-year or 4-year college.
- How it is judged: leadership, academic performance, extracurricular activities and a 1,000-word essay. Three reviewers from outside the department score each application with identifying information removed.
- The award: presented at the annual awards banquet. The $2,000 check is made out to the student and the school.
Application
Applications open once a year
The 2027 application will be posted here when the window opens. The 2026 form is available for reference; its deadline was January 23, 2026.
2026 application form (PDF)Questions: dentonfiretraditions@gmail.com
Past winners
Past Kevin Perry Memorial Scholarship winners will be listed here.