Six South Coast departments among 41 new firefighters graduating the state academy

SOUTH COAST Forty-one new firefighters graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy's Bridgewater campus this week, and six South Coast departments are among those adding trained members. State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine announced the graduations of Career Recruit Class #BW41, which finished a 10-week program on Monday, and Call/Volunteer Recruit Training Class #129, which finished a 15-week nights-and-weekends program on Tuesday.

The career class includes new firefighters from the Fairhaven and Somerset fire departments. The call and volunteer class includes recruits from Acushnet, Dartmouth Fire District 3, Rochester and Swansea.

A Somerset firefighter took the career class's top honor. The Richard N. Bangs Outstanding Student Award, presented to one recruit in each graduating career recruit training class, went to Firefighter Juan Pheonix Leigh of the Somerset Fire Department. The award is named for a longtime chair of the Massachusetts Fire Training Council and reflects the recruit's academic and practical skills, testing and evaluations over the course of the 10-week program.

In the call and volunteer class, the Martin H. McNamara Outstanding Student Award went to James Walsh of the Plympton Fire Department. The award is named for Martin "Marty" McNamara V, a call firefighter with the Lancaster Fire Department who lost his life in the line of duty in 2003 while battling a fire in a multifamily home. It is presented to one recruit in each graduating call and volunteer training class and recognizes academic and practical skills, testing and evaluations over the course of the program.

"Massachusetts firefighters are on the frontlines protecting their communities every day, and today's graduates are needed now more than ever," Davine said. "The hundreds of hours of foundational training they've received will provide them with the physical, mental, and technical skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely."

"Massachusetts Firefighting Academy instructors draw on decades of experience in the fire service to train new recruits," said MFA Recruit Program Coordinator Dean Babineau. "Through consistent classroom instruction and practical exercises, today's graduates have developed the tools they'll need to work seamlessly with veteran firefighters in their home departments and in neighboring communities as mutual aid."

What the training covers

The academy program combines classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training and live firefighting practice. Students 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, with fire attack operations ranging from mailbox fires to multiple-floor or multiple-room structural fires.

Recruits also receive training in public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management and self-rescue techniques. Firefighters train for all types of hazards and emergencies: they are the first ones called to chemical and environmental emergencies, from the suspected presence of carbon monoxide to a gas leak, and they rescue people from stalled elevators and crashed vehicles.

The full career class represents the fire departments of Abington, Avon, Fairhaven, Falmouth, Franklin, Hingham, Hull, Milton, Needham, Plainville, Sandwich, Somerset and Whitman. The call and volunteer class represents Acushnet, Berkley, Chatham, Dartmouth Fire District 3, Lakeville, Onset, Plympton, Raynham, Rehoboth, Rochester and Swansea.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.