STOW – Deputy State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Director George D. Kramlinger announced the graduation of the 232nd class of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s 45-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training Program on August 28, 2015.
“This rigorous professional training provides our newest firefighters with the basic skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely,” said 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.
The 24 graduates, all men, represent the 15 fire departments of: Ashland, Bedford, Burlington, Devens, Easthampton, Lakeville, Melrose, Middleborough, North Attleboro, Northampton, Plainville, Westborough, Westfield, Weymouth, and Woburn.
The guest speaker was Northampton Fire Chief Duane Nichols, a 28-year veteran of the department who was appointed chief in July. Nichols spoke to the graduates about how the 9-week Recruit Program is the solid foundation for career-long learning and training. By constantly expanding their knowledge and skills, firefighters are prepared to face constantly changing hazards. His own biography underscores his commitment to expanding his own education and to teaching other firefighters.
Nichols earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fire Science Management from Anna Maria College and an Associate’s degree in Fire Science from Greenfield Community College (GCC) where he is now an adjunct professor and a member of the advisory board for their Fire Science Program. He is an instructor at the Mass. Firefighting Academy, and is a leader in his region’s Hazardous Materials Response Team.
The 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, nine-week program for municipal firefighters involves classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training, and live firefighting practice.
Starting with Class #200, the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy changed its training format from 72 students in a 12-week program to a smaller class size of 24 students that starts every three weeks. There are still 72 students on campus at any one time, but the smaller class size is expected to achieve time efficiencies without compromising learning, and in fact improve education with smaller student/instructor ratios.
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.
Included in the graduating class were Timothy Bozak, Benjamin J. Lafrenaye, Aaron R. Pchelka, Anastas Pleshaw, and David T. Ponti-Smith, who will all serve under Chief Mary Regan of Westfield.
