When Timothy Stevens was growing up, he loved the idea of being a firefighter. He used to watch “Station 51” on television. His father volunteered for the department in Throop.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Firefighter training program recruits listen to a classroom lecture by firefighter Roman Rotko at the city's main firehouse Thursday afternoon. The recruits formally graduated on Friday.
Firefighter training program recruits listen to a classroom lecture by firefighter Roman Rotko at the city's main firehouse Thursday afternoon. The recruits formally graduated on Friday.
And now those childhood fantasies have become his real life. Stevens, 37, will begin working this week as a fully certified firefighter with the Auburn Fire Department.
“It's a dream job, it really is,” Stevens said. “It is a humbling experience to watch what these guys do every day,”
Over the past two months, local and out-of-town recruits have received training and certification as part of an on-site fire academy at the AFD. Seven people were honored Friday during a formal graduation ceremony, confirming that they have earned the state and national certifications to become firefighters.
Three recruits for the Cortland Fire Department also trained at the Auburn academy. The other four trained specifically to join the AFD.
The intensive, eight-week program is one of just three fire academies to ever take place at the AFD. Almost 20 state-approved instructors taught classroom courses, led hands-on training and worked with the recruits on their physical fitness.
“Everywhere you turn, this job is a challenge,” said Stevens. “Someone's life can hang in your hands. You have to prepare for it.”
In order to complete the academy, the recruits had to take 12 different courses and spend 288 hours in the classroom. They spent a weekend at the state academy to complete their national certification.
The new firefighters also had to complete a test known as the Candidate Physical Agility Test. To pass, each person must carry out multiple tasks like a hose drag and forcible entry in less than 10 minutes, and they do it while wearing heavy fire gear.
“We throw a lot of tests at these guys,” said Lt. William DiFabio, who served as head instructor for the Auburn academy.
DiFabio has taught at the state academy as well, and he said he organized this program to be very similar to the one at Montour Falls. The group was broken into two mixed units with recruits from both Auburn and Cortland, and those groups stayed together for all eight weeks.
But one of the differences from the state academy is the overall size of the class. There are as many as 32 trainees at a Montour Falls academy, which means recruits stand around a lot.
“On our first live fire day, we each did seven runs,” said Dan Townsend, 37, an Auburn recruit. “Normally, you are lucky if you get to do one fire.”
The city of Auburn initiated the academy as a way to get its newest hires fully trained as soon as possible. Auburn firefighters are usually trained at the state fire academy in Montour Falls. But if this group was to enter the next available slot for the state academy, their training would not have been complete until November.
By getting the new firefighters on the lines as soon as possible, the city is able to cut back on elevated overtime costs that accrue during training, City Manager Mark Palesh said.
Cutting the department's overtime costs has been a recent priority with the department. So far in 2008, the city has unsuccessfully asked for permission to hire fully-trained staff from other departments and attempted to work new recruits as full-time firefighters to try get those costs down.
The Civil Service Commission denied the city's request for lateral transfers, and the local firefighters union was granted a temporary court order keeping the city from using trainees on the line. That case has not yet been resolved, Palesh said.
The on-site academy was the city's third plan.
“As far as I'm concerned, we could do it on a regular basis,” Palesh said. “It saves costs, and it saves time. Overall, there is no downside.”
Auburn Fire Chief Mike Hammon said he is very happy with the results of the program. But it may not be possible to do one regularly. Training academies are only viable if there are at least five recruits, Hammon said, and such a large group of new hires is not a normal occurrence.
“This time, we had enough people and enough resources to make it worthwhile,” Hammon said.
Four of the graduates - Townsend, Stevens, William Seamans and Timothy Clemons - will begin working at the Auburn or Cortland department within the next couple weeks.
But Justin Woods, of Auburn, and R.J. Reynolds and Steve Romer, both of Cortland, will have to wait a while longer. Woods is a city employee in Auburn, and one more spot has to open up in the department before he can join the ranks.
Romer and Reynolds both volunteer in Cortland and would like to work on the department's paid staff. They paid their own way for the training to look more attractive on the local Civil Service list.
But Romer, 21, said the bonds formed through the training, if nothing else, have made the experience worthwhile. Firefighters are part of a brotherhood.. After eight weeks of learning to trust a group of people and strengthen one another, he is part of that brotherhood, he said.
“You become very close,” Romer said. “I'm glad I went.”
Christopher Caskey can be reached at 25305311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net
“It's a dream job, it really is,” Stevens said. “It is a humbling experience to watch what these guys do every day,”
Over the past two months, local and out-of-town recruits have received training and certification as part of an on-site fire academy at the AFD. Seven people were honored Friday during a formal graduation ceremony, confirming that they have earned the state and national certifications to become firefighters.
Three recruits for the Cortland Fire Department also trained at the Auburn academy. The other four trained specifically to join the AFD.
The intensive, eight-week program is one of just three fire academies to ever take place at the AFD. Almost 20 state-approved instructors taught classroom courses, led hands-on training and worked with the recruits on their physical fitness.
“Everywhere you turn, this job is a challenge,” said Stevens. “Someone's life can hang in your hands. You have to prepare for it.”
In order to complete the academy, the recruits had to take 12 different courses and spend 288 hours in the classroom. They spent a weekend at the state academy to complete their national certification.
The new firefighters also had to complete a test known as the Candidate Physical Agility Test. To pass, each person must carry out multiple tasks like a hose drag and forcible entry in less than 10 minutes, and they do it while wearing heavy fire gear.
“We throw a lot of tests at these guys,” said Lt. William DiFabio, who served as head instructor for the Auburn academy.
DiFabio has taught at the state academy as well, and he said he organized this program to be very similar to the one at Montour Falls. The group was broken into two mixed units with recruits from both Auburn and Cortland, and those groups stayed together for all eight weeks.
But one of the differences from the state academy is the overall size of the class. There are as many as 32 trainees at a Montour Falls academy, which means recruits stand around a lot.
“On our first live fire day, we each did seven runs,” said Dan Townsend, 37, an Auburn recruit. “Normally, you are lucky if you get to do one fire.”
The city of Auburn initiated the academy as a way to get its newest hires fully trained as soon as possible. Auburn firefighters are usually trained at the state fire academy in Montour Falls. But if this group was to enter the next available slot for the state academy, their training would not have been complete until November.
By getting the new firefighters on the lines as soon as possible, the city is able to cut back on elevated overtime costs that accrue during training, City Manager Mark Palesh said.
Cutting the department's overtime costs has been a recent priority with the department. So far in 2008, the city has unsuccessfully asked for permission to hire fully-trained staff from other departments and attempted to work new recruits as full-time firefighters to try get those costs down.
The Civil Service Commission denied the city's request for lateral transfers, and the local firefighters union was granted a temporary court order keeping the city from using trainees on the line. That case has not yet been resolved, Palesh said.
The on-site academy was the city's third plan.
“As far as I'm concerned, we could do it on a regular basis,” Palesh said. “It saves costs, and it saves time. Overall, there is no downside.”
Auburn Fire Chief Mike Hammon said he is very happy with the results of the program. But it may not be possible to do one regularly. Training academies are only viable if there are at least five recruits, Hammon said, and such a large group of new hires is not a normal occurrence.
“This time, we had enough people and enough resources to make it worthwhile,” Hammon said.
Four of the graduates - Townsend, Stevens, William Seamans and Timothy Clemons - will begin working at the Auburn or Cortland department within the next couple weeks.
But Justin Woods, of Auburn, and R.J. Reynolds and Steve Romer, both of Cortland, will have to wait a while longer. Woods is a city employee in Auburn, and one more spot has to open up in the department before he can join the ranks.
Romer and Reynolds both volunteer in Cortland and would like to work on the department's paid staff. They paid their own way for the training to look more attractive on the local Civil Service list.
But Romer, 21, said the bonds formed through the training, if nothing else, have made the experience worthwhile. Firefighters are part of a brotherhood.. After eight weeks of learning to trust a group of people and strengthen one another, he is part of that brotherhood, he said.
“You become very close,” Romer said. “I'm glad I went.”
Christopher Caskey can be reached at 25305311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net
