Athol Fire Chief Joseph Guarnera is pleased to announce Ian Hogan of the Athol Fire Department was one of the graduates of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s 50-day Career Recruit Firefighter Training Program in Springfield.
State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Director David C. Evans announced the graduation of the 14th class to complete the training.
Hogan was the only Athol recruit of the 28 men and three women to graduate. A second Athol recruit is currently in the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Stow Campus.
“Today is an exciting day to see these recruits complete their training,” Ostroskey said. “This rigorous professional training provides our newest firefighters with the basic skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely. Being able to provide training closer to where Western Massachusetts firefighters live and work has long been a goal of the Department of Fire Services and the fire service leadership.”
The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers this program tuition-free.