GLOUCESTER – Chief Eric Smith and the Gloucester Fire Department are pleased to share that a Gloucester firefighter has graduated from the Massachusetts Fire Academy in Stow.
Firefighter Samantha Rose completed an intensive, 10-week program for municipal firefighters involving classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training, and live firefighting practice.
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.
Graduates have met the national standards of National Fire Protection Association 1001 and are certified to the level of Firefighter I and II, and Hazardous Materials First Responder Operational Level by the Massachusetts Fire Training Council, which is accredited by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications.
Firefighter Rose was among 23 recruits who graduated from the Stow campus. Thirty-seven other recruits graduated from classes held at the MFA’s Bridgewater and Springfield campuses.
“Firefighters today respond to a wide array of calls, from fires to rescues to environmental and chemical emergencies,” Chief Smith said. “Firefighter Rose has completed a challenging program designed to have graduates performing at a high level from day one. I congratulate her, and welcome her to the Department.”
Firefighter Rose’s sister, Alexandra Pizzimenti, is a firefighter/paramedic for the Reading Fire Department. Firefighter Pizzimenti was a co-presenter at graduation, the first time a female graduate’s sister has served in that role.
“My sister has been a big part of this journey,” Firefighter Rose said. “I’m so happy to be serving the city I’ve been raised in.”
