March 30, 2013
State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy
Director Edmund M. Walker are pleased to announce the graduation of the 198th class of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s sixty-day Recruit
Firefighting Program on March 29, 2013. “This rigorous professional training
provides our newest firefighters with the basic skills to perform their jobs
effectively and safely,” Coan said. 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.
68 Graduates from 40 Fire Departments
The 68 graduates represent 40 departments including Auburn, which graduated
Firefighter/Paramedic Brian Sheridan. The communities with graduates include
Bedford, Bellingham, Braintree, Chelmsford, Concord, Danvers, Dracut, East
Longmeadow, Framingham, Franklin, Gardner, Gloucester, Greenfield,
Holyoke, Hopedale, Leominster, Lexington, Longmeadow, Lowell, Lynn,
Mansfield, Mashpee, Melrose, Middleborough, Nahant, North Andover,
Northampton, Norton, Orleans, Plainville, Salem, Somerville, Stoughton,
Wayland, Westfield, Westford, Winchester, Winthrop and Woburn.
Guest Speaker Marshfield Fire Chief Kevin Robinson
The guest speaker was Marshfield Fire Chief Kevin Robinson. Last November a
Marshfield firefighter was trapped in a structural collapse in a neighboring town.
The immediate implementation of rapid intervention team mode and a recently
practiced May Day policy lead to a quick rescue. Chief Robinson, also an
instructor at the MFA, said, “This incident underscores that a firefighter’s
training only starts with the recruit program and continues throughout our
careers.”
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
accidents. They test and maintain their equipment, ranging from self-contained
breathing apparatus to hydrants to 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, water rescue
procedures, confined space rescue techniques, and rappelling. The intensive, 12-
week program for municipal firefighters; involves classroom instruction,
physical fitness training, firefighter skills training and live fire 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.
Contact: Chief Stephen M. Coleman Jr.
508-832-7800
scoleman@town.auburn.ma.us
