PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Five local firefighters were among the 20 graduates of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy on Monday. 

 

Jahyde Bullard, Phourasamy Din and Matthew Tobin, all of Pittsfield, and Cody Doyle and Owen Hoffman of Dalton completed the academy's 50-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training Program.

 

Bullard, Din and Tobin were appointed permanent firefighters by Mayor Peter Marchetti last July. 

 

"Massachusetts firefighters are on the frontlines protecting their communities every day, and today’s graduates are needed now more than ever," said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine. "The hundreds of hours of foundational training they’ve received will provide them with the physical, mental, and technical skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely."

 

The graduating firefighters of Class  No. S39 represent the fire departments of Amherst, Chicopee, Dalton, Monson, Northampton, Palmer, Pittsfield, South Hadley Fire District 1, Springfield, Ware, and Westfield.

 

The Richard N. Bangs Outstanding Student Award, which is presented to one recruit in each graduating career recruit training class, was presented to Dylan Sliech of Springfield Fire and Emergency Services. The award is named for the longtime chair of the Massachusetts Fire Training Council and reflects the recruit's academic and practical skills, testing, and evaluations over the course of the 10-week program.

 

The graduates received classroom training in all basic firefighter skills during the course. 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.