Stoughton Resident Among 23 Local Firefighters Graduating From State Firefighting Academy

State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Deputy Director Joseph J. Klucznik are pleased to announce the graduation of the 202nd
Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s forty-five-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training  Program on October 11, 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.

The 23 graduates, two women and 21 men, represent the 14 departments of Amherst, Falmouth, Framingham, Kingston, Maynard, Methuen, Natick, Needham, Salem,  Southborough, Stoughton, Waltham, Watertown and Yarmouth.
David C. Jardin, from Stoughton, was among the graduates. 

The guest speaker was Brian Whitney, an MFA instructor who has been an assistant coordinator for the Career Recruit Firefighter Training program at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy since 2000. Whitney is a 30-year veteran of the fire service and is a lieutenant with the Concord (MA) Fire Department. He spoke about the value of training to firefighters individually and to  the other firefighters they work with who rely on them. 

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 crashes. 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, confined space rescue techniques, and rappelling. The intensive, 9-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 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.