AVON — Chief Robert Spurr and the Avon Fire Department are pleased to announce that Firefighter Justin Powers recently graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.
Firefighter Powers will be assigned to Group 1. He is also a Massachusetts National Guard combat medic.
“We are pleased to welcome Firefighter Powers, and also look forward to supporting him as he serves in his medic role with the Massachusetts National Guard,” Chief Spurr said. “We are confident that Firefighter Powers will serve the community of Avon and its residents well for years to come.”
Three Firefighter Recruit Classes graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy on Friday, March 5. Firefighter Powers was a member of Class BW09, which included 14 graduates from eight fire departments. In addition to Avon, the class featured graduates from Falmouth, Framingham, Franklin, Hull, Lakeville, Rockland and Somerset.
The announcement of the graduates was made by State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and Deputy State Fire Marshal Maribel Fournier.
The intensive 10-week academy for municipal firefighters involves classroom instruction, physical fitness training, skills training and live firefighting practice. Previously, the program was nine weeks, but another week has been added to allow for additional time focused on water rescue, power saws, live fire training, and Firefighter I/II practical skills.
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).
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