FF/Paramedic Scott Payne, FF/Paramedic Eric Swartz and FF/Paramedic Aaron Bannish. Falmouth Fire-Rescue/CWN
STOW, MA – State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA) Director David C. Evans announced the graduation of the 266th class of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s fifty-day Career Recruit Firefighter Training Program on August 31, 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.
36 Graduates from 18 Fire Departments
The graduates, all men, include from Falmouth Fire FF/Paramedic Scott Payne, FF/Paramedic Eric Swartz and FF/Paramedic Aaron Bannish.
Guest Speaker: Saugus Fire Lt. Bill Cross
The guest speaker was Saugus Fire Lieutenant Bill Cross, a 24-veteran of the fire department and an MFA instructor for 20. Cross received the 2008 Firefighter of the Year Medal of Valor for his rescue of a double amputee from a fire while he was off-duty. He was recently recognized for rescuing an unconscious man from a kitchen fire. Cross told the graduates, “Each of us train for such rescues and you rely on that training to kick in instinctively when the need arises.”
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.
Media release furnished by Mass Department of Fire Services
