Firefighters, collectively, are proud individuals. They are proud that they graduated the rigorous academy, proud that they put their lives on the line and proud to be firefighters. Every Firefighter who graduates the academy has a story to tell. From his perspective, why he decided to join and how it makes him or her feel.
It is a unique perspective, and definitely worth reading. Fire Academies are difficult to graduate from, to say the least. They demand a lot from a person, physically and mentally. Listening to a graduate on how …

In Pearl, Tennessee, the elected officials don’t just fund the fire academy, they actually join them. They don’t just talk the talk they actually walk the walk. It’s quite easy to make budget considerations and decisions when the academy is just another bureaucratic decision, it’s a whole different matter when the officials actually participate in the fire academy training and exercises. Hernando Alderman is an elceted official in Pearl, Tennesee, and Mr. Alderman participated in the annual fire academy exercises for elected officials. What made the feat so amazing is the fact …

When nearly 100 new Chicago firefighters crossed the stage Thursday to shake Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s hand during their graduation, most of them did so after waiting — and fighting — for almost two decades to join the Chicago Fire Department.
About 6,000 African Americans were passed over because of the city’s discriminatory handling of a firefighters’ entrance exam in 1995. After years of lawsuits, a federal appeals court ordered the city last year to hire those who passed that exam — and they included 86 of Thursday’s 98 graduating firefighters, including …

Bright and early on Saturday morning, young men and women dressed in collared shirts and slacks streamed into the L.A. Fire Department’s training academy in Elysian Park to learn what it takes to be a firefighter.
Almost all of the approximately 80 people in attendance are black – a turnout the department was hoping for.
“I want to make sure our department represents the communities we serve,” said Fire Chief Brian Cummings as he addressed the room at the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center.
This informational session is part of a minority recruitment …

Pick up a newspaper or watch the evening news in just about any town or city, and you’re bound to see and hear about the misdeeds of a firefighter, paramedic or other responder.
Angry and upset about how these actions are affecting the storied reputation of emergency services, a Code of Ethics has been created, and fire officials are hoping departments across the country adopt it.
The Code of Ethics document now graces the walls of classroom buildings at the National Fire Academy in Maryland.
In addition, the information is in all NFA …

Nearly a year after one of the most destructive wildfires in history ripped through Central Texas, hundreds of firefighters — including several from the San Antonio area — converged on a military base near Bastrop to learn how to better fight such infernos.
Bexar County Emergency Manager Kyle Coleman, who visited Camp Swift on Friday for an annual service for fallen firefighters during the two-week-long wildfire academy, said the base reminds him of how well San Antonio’s first responders worked as a team during the fire season that changed Texas’ landscape.
The biggest fire consumed …

 
Researchers at Natick’s U. S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine have teamed up with the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow, Mass., in an effort to reduce injuries in recruits. 
The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, or MFA, contacted USARIEM’s Military Performance Division and asked researchers to evaluate their physical training program for recruits after seeing a spike in training-related injuries.
Instructors for the 12-week program noticed that recruits were showing up not fully ready to handle the physical stress that comes with the academy. As a result, recruits were frequently lost to injury.
“We …

The Cincinnati Fire Department is bigger – as of today. Today is the first day of training for 39 new recruits. Local 12 News Reporter Larry Davis says they begin training today after passing the test three years ago. Among the recruits-a woman and her little brother. 
Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory welcomed the 39 recruits to their first day of training. City budget constraints delayed the process for three years after all passed the firefighter exam. 
This was a day Derek and Damara Hunt had long been waiting for. They are brother and sister. …

Everybody respects and admires the work firefighters do, but rarely do  we get a first-hand look at the lives of firefighters. Elected officials are the ones who basically are in control of the fire department’s budget, etc. Giving them a personal look at what firefighting really entails will make them understand better the selfless services firefighters offer each and every day. The “Mini Academy” hosted by the Marin Fire Department gave council members and other elected officials a rare glimpse into the what really goes into being a firefighter.
READ MORE: http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_21778725/firefighters-host-mini-fire-academy-marin-officials

If you’ve ever washed your car in the driveway and got smacked by an unruly garden hose, you know it’s not the most pleasant feeling.
 
Now imagine wearing 60 pounds of gear and toting a fully-pressurized 3-inch fire hose — weighing about 300 pounds per 100 feet — up a ladder to the roof of a 1½-story building to douse a fire.
 
“Takes teamwork,” said Brian Drerup, the Rockford Fire Department’s training coordinator.
 
He stood on top of the roof of a training structure Wednesday at the Station 6 training academy, 3329 W. …