March 29, 2024

38 Local Firefighters Graduate State Firefighting Academy

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Stow – Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA) Director David C. Evans announced the graduation of the 268th class of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s fifty-day Career Recruit Firefighter Training Program on November 19, 2018. “This rigorous professional training provides our newest firefighters with the basic skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely,” said State Fire Marshal Ostroskey. The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA), a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers this program tuition-free. The ceremony took place at the Department of Fire Services in Stow, MA.

38 Graduates from 28 Fire Departments
The 38 graduates, all men, represent the 28 fire departments of Acton, Burlington, Canton, Chelsea, Danvers, East Bridgewater, Fairhaven, Fitchburg, Gardner, Gloucester, Hanover, Haverhill, Hingham, Hopkinton, Maynard, Methuen, Newton, North Andover, Norwell, Randolph, Scituate, Seekonk, Walpole, Wayland, Wellfleet, West Bridgewater, Westford, and Weymouth.

Guest Speaker: Retired Lawrence Fire Chief Joseph “Larry” Marquis
The guest speaker was retired Lawrence Fire Chief Joseph “Larry” Marquis. He joined the Lawrence Fire Department in 1977, rose through the ranks and became chief in 2003 before retiring in 2006 as chief and emergency management director. Before joining the fire service, he served two years in the U.S. Navy and later was in both the Navy Reserves and Army Reserves. He has been a Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Instructor since the mid-1990s. Marquis spoke to the recruits from the fire chief’s perspective about the value of the academy training, the caliber of their instructors, and just how important the families that nurture and sustain them are.

Today’s Firefighters Do Far More than Fight Fires
Today’s firefighters do far more than fight fires. They are the first ones called to respond to chemical and environmental emergencies, ranging from the suspected presence of carbon monoxide to a gas leak. They may be called to rescue a child who has fallen through the ice or who has locked himself in a bathroom. They rescue people from stalled elevators and those who are trapped in vehicle crashes. They test and maintain their equipment including self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), hydrants, hoses, power tools, and apparatus.

At the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy they learn all these skills and more from certified fire instructors who are also experienced firefighters. Students learn all the basic skills they need to respond to fires and to contain and control them. They are also given training in public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management, confined space rescue techniques, and rappelling. The intensive, ten-week program for municipal firefighters involves classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training, and live firefighting practice.

Basic Firefighter Skills
Students receive classroom training in all basic firefighter skills. They practice first under non-fire conditions and then during controlled fire conditions. To graduate, students must demonstrate proficiency in life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply, pump operation, and fire attack. Fire attack operations range from mailbox fires to multiple-floor or multiple-room structural fires. Upon successful completion of the Recruit Program all students have met national standards of National Fire Protection Association 1001 and are certified to the level of Firefighter I and II, and Hazardous Materials First Responder Operational Level by the Massachusetts Fire Training Council, which is accredited by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications.

From Seekonk: Justin Labonte Seekonk Fire Department

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