WESTFIELD–The Westfield Fire Department is looking forward to welcoming two new graduates from the Mass. Fire Academy.
Eric Liptak and Michael Sedlak are expected to graduate from the Mass. Fire Academy Tuesday, June 7. They have already been hired by the department, and as part of their conditions of employment they had one year to complete the Fire Academy.
Sedlak in his “turnout” gear, which is gear firefighters typically wear into a fire.
“It’s basic training for firefighters,” Westfield Fire Chief Mary Regan said about the Fire Academy. “They go through physical tests, ventilating roofs, hydraulics, what they need to do and how to work as a team–they learn how to be a firefighter.”
The program runs for 10 weeks, and covers what is known as “Firefighter training one and two” to many firefighters and emergency personnel. In addition to the tasks listed above, the recruits learn about hazardous material recognition and response, interacting with fire and wrap up class with what firefighters call a “live burn”–where recruits enter an actively burning building at the Academy and go through all the actions of a firefighter in blaze.
However, Liptak and Sedlak will be expected to do more than fight fires when they come back from training.
According to Regan, about 77 percent of the responses that the Westfield Fire Department does annually is on the emergency medical services (EMS) side. In 2015, Westfield ambulances responded to almost 6,000 calls, which included providing additional services to surrounding cities and towns. The total amount of calls needing response from fire apparatuses was 1,578.
Liptak in his “turnout” gear, which is gear firefighters typically wear into a fire.
Also, the ambulances in Westfield operate at an advanced life support (ALS) level, meaning they are staffed by paramedics. What this means is that they have the ability to do more than basic treatments, and are provided with medications and advanced protocols. And so this means that firefighters need even more training to be on an ambulance. For the two newcomers, Sedlak is already paramedic-certified and Liptak is in the process of becoming certified, according to Regan.
“We would prefer paramedic certification in Westfield because everyone serves as a firefighter,” Regan said.
As a whole, the department is staffed by 89 firefighters, 38 of which are currently paramedics.
Photos provided by Westfield Fire Department
