Advice to Newest MA Firefighters: 'Be Ready'

SPRINGFIELD—Twenty-four of the state’s newest firefighters were sent off on their careers on Friday but not without some last-second advice from those who have gone before.

In a ceremony at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Springfield campus, the recruits, 23 men and 1 woman, were celebrated on Friday for their successful completion of the 10-week course. They will now report to 12 different fire departments in Western Massachusetts.

“You entered here as recruits; you are leaving as members of the proud tradition of firefighting,” said Peter Ostroskey, Massachusetts Fire Marshal.

The 10-week course provided the basics, a foundation, for firefighting, but their real education begins the moment they report to their first firehouse, he said. He urged them to keep learning and training and improving their skills.

“You learn something new every day. That’s not just a saying. That’s the reality in our business," he said.

The main speaker was Lt. Dennis Foley, a 19-year veteran of the West Springfield Fire Department. He relayed a story from his past, when as a fifth-year firefighter, his company was dispatched to a four-alarm fire at a Park Street six-family apartment on June 16, 2002.

Two residents were killed and 10 others injured, and firefighters were catching people from the upper floor windows.

He said that with every firefighter on scene engaged in life-saving efforts, it was left to him to multitask several other roles in their place, from running lines to the hydrant, operating the pumper truck, and directing water on flames in the room adjacent to where he knew some firefighters were.

He said he was still new on the job, and no one was there to give him commands, but he said he instinctively knew what to do. That was because he had been been properly trained at the academy, and he had continued learning on the job.

“Every firefighter in the room has a story that will tell you who they are and what they do,” he said.

“Take pride in what you do. Be ready. You never know what is going to come,” he said.

The graduates are the 10th class to complete training at the Springfield campus since it opened in 2016

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