Robert B. Lay, Fire Chief
Public Safety Building
181 Main St
Groveland, MA 01834
For Immediate Release
Friday, June 5, 2015
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Groveland Fire Department Congratulates Graduates From Call/Volunteer Firefighter Training Program
GROVELAND – Chief Robert Lay is pleased to congratulate three firefighters from the Groveland Fire Department on their graduation from the 52nd Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA) Call/Volunteer Firefighter Recruit Training Program.
Steven Bartolo, Adam Huberdeau and Kristopher Vallone celebrated their accomplishments during a ceremony Thursday night at Pentucket Regional High School. The Groveland Fire Department hosted the five-month academy for students.
To graduate, firefighters were required to demonstrate proficiency in life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply, pump operation and fire attack (ranging from mailbox fires to multiple-floor or multi-room structural fires).
“We are proud to congratulate multiple members of our department on their graduation, along with the other men and women from our neighboring communities who completed the course,” Chief Lay said. “These training programs are extremely valuable to our call and volunteer firefighters, and we are pleased that they have taken the initiative to improve their training.”
Forty graduates from 21 fire departments across the Commonwealth participated in the program, which is designed to allow call and volunteer firefighters in Massachusetts to receive formal and consistent training from certified fire instructors at the MFA in a format that accommodates their schedules.
Call and volunteer firefighters began the program in late January. They met twice a week in the evenings and on weekends to complete more than 240 hours of both classroom and hands-on training. Firefighters learned the basic skills they need to respond to fires including how to contain and control them, public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management, firefighter self-rescue and vehicle extrication.
Recently, the MFA has implemented an online format that helps students to better control their workload. The online program gives students the opportunity to complete more work outside of class, take quizzes online and allows for more time to practice training skills with instructors.
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