Melissa Hanson
MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A group of fire recruits was on Grove Street Tuesday, working on vehicle training.
That’s when the call came in.
An unmarked Worcester police cruiser was involved in a three-car crash, leaving the officer trapped in his cruiser with several injuries.
It became a hands-on learning experience for the recruits. They got to the scene at Grove and Chester streets and helped render aid.
The crash was an unplanned training exercise. But this 23-member recruit class is about to finish 15 weeks of extensive training and are ready to become official firefighters.
The 2019 Recruit Academy includes 19 recruits from the Worcester Fire Department and four recruits from the Natick Fire Department. The incoming firefighters will graduate on June 14.
Do you have what it takes to become a firefighter? These men did
Shane Keddy and Kervin Lima spent 15 weeks training to become Worcester firefighters.
On Wednesday, the recruits showed off what they have learned for public officials and members of the media, putting out flames and using tools to slice through metal at the Worcester Fire Department’s training building.
The recruits hoisted ladders up to the multi-story building. They ran inside with hoses to quell flames in several rooms on multiple floors.
Flames peeked out of a window as smoke started to pour out of the structure.
Held at the Worcester Fire Department headquarters, the recruit class began training in March. The recruits studied firefighting theory, structural firefighting, building construction, EMS first responder training, hazardous materials, aircraft firefighting, search and rescue and other topics.
Two people have been killed in fires in Worcester this year, part of 17 civilian fire deaths across the state so far in 2019, the recruits said during a short presentation.
The Worcester Fire Department has recently saved seven people under dangerous circumstances, the recruits said.
Last month, there were 85 structure fires in the city, according to the recruits, and 11 turned into what was considered major fires.
This Massachusetts firefighter has invented a device that could keep fellow firefighters safe from a hidden danger
Firefighter John Callahan has a patent pending design that he thinks will make the occupation safer for fellow firefighters.
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