For Immediate Release

Monday, Oct. 15, 2018

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Gloucester Firefighter Graduates from Academy

GLOUCESTER — Chief Eric Smith is pleased to announce that Firefighter Thomas Aldrich graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy today.

Firefighter Aldrich completed the 267th class of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s 50-day Career Recruit Firefighter Training Program and was recognized this morning at a ceremony in Stow.

Residing on the North Shore, Firefighter Aldrich joined the Gloucester Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic in November of 2017 after working for the Manchester-by-the-Sea Fire Department for nearly a year.

“We’re excited to have Firefighter Aldrich back from the academy and serving the Gloucester community,” Chief Smith said. “His skills as both a firefighter and paramedic make him an asset to this department.”

Today’s firefighters do far more than fight fires. They are the first ones called to respond to chemical and environmental emergencies, ranging from the suspected presence of carbon monoxide to a gas leak. They may be called to rescue a child who has fallen through the ice or who has locked himself in a bathroom. They rescue people from stalled elevators and those who are trapped in vehicle crashes. Firefighters test and maintain their equipment, including self-contained breathing apparatus hydrants, hoses, power tools and apparatus.

During the 10-week academy, firefighters learned the basic skills they need to respond to fires, including how to contain and control them, public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management, confined space rescue techniques and rappelling.

To graduate, firefighters were required to demonstrate proficiency in life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply, pump operation and fire attack (ranging from mailbox fires to multiple-floor or multi-room structural fires).

The 30 graduates, one woman and 29 men, represent the 26 fire departments of: Ashland, Bellingham, Boxborough, Charlton, Dracut, Gardner, Gloucester, Ipswich, Marblehead, Marshfield, New Bedford, North Andover, Northborough, Plymouth, Rockland, Sandwich, Seekonk, Somerset, Stoneham, Sudbury, Taunton, Upton, Walpole, Watertown, Weston and Winchendon.

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