Dedham Firefighters Graduate From MA Fire Academy

DEDHAM, MA — Dedham firefighters are part of the latest class of graduates from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s fifty-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training Program.

Dedham was one of 10 fire departments with graduates in the program. This class had 20 graduates.

"First responders are on the front lines protecting their communities and these newest firefighters are needed now more than ever. We have taken advantage of technology, reduced class size for social distancing, implemented daily screening, and required mask-wearing to keep our instructors and students as safe as possible during these uncertain times," said Deputy State Fire Marshal Maribel Fournier.

The program teaches recruits public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management, confined space rescue techniques, and rappelling. The intensive, ten-week program for municipal firefighters involves classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training, and live firefighting practice. 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, which is accredited by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications.