From left: Taunton Firefighters Griffin Galligan, Seth Lima, Josh Callanan and Garret Babbit. (Photo courtesy Taunton Fire Department) 
From left: Taunton Firefighter Griffin Galligan, Lt. Greg Galligan, Firefighter Garret Babbit, Chief Timothy Bradshaw, Firefighter Josh Callanan and Firefighter Seth Lima. (Photo courtesy Taunton Fire Department) 
Taunton firefighters Griffin Galligan, Garret Babbit, Josh Callanan and Seth Lima were among the 26 firefighters representing 12 fire departments to graduate from the MFA’s Career Recruit Firefighter Training Class 299. (Photo courtesy Taunton Fire Department)
TAUNTON — Chief Timothy Bradshaw is pleased to announce that four Taunton firefighters graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA) last week.
On Friday, March 4, Taunton firefighters Griffin Galligan, Garret Babbit, Josh Callanan and Seth Lima were among the 26 firefighters representing 12 fire departments to graduate from the MFA’s Career Recruit Firefighter Training Class 299. Graduates were recognized at a ceremony at the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services headquarters in Stow Friday.
The 10-week program teaches the essentials of fire and non-fire conditions, life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply, pump operation and fire attack. Following their graduation from the academy, Firefighters Galligan, Babbit, Callanan and Lima are now certified as Firefighter I/II and certified in Hazmat Operations.
“Firefighters Galligan, Babbit, Callanan and Lima all bring different experiences and perspectives to the Taunton Fire Department and I look forward to seeing how each respective firefighter will grow within our department,” Chief Bradshaw said. “I wish them all the best as they embark on their new career path serving the Taunton community.”
Firefighter Babbit graduated from Dighton-Rehoboth High School in 2013 and worked as a licensed barber before he was appointed as a Taunton firefighter.
Firefighter Callanan graduated from Taunton High School in 2005 and Roxbury Community College in 2011 with an associates’ degree. Prior to joining the Taunton Fire Department, Firefighter Callanan worked as an x-ray technician at Morton Hospital in Taunton.
Firefighter Galligan graduated from Coyle Cassidy High School in 2015. He previously worked for Martignetti Corporation, a liquor distribution warehouse in Taunton, before joining the department. His father, Lt. Greg Galligan, is a 35-year veteran of the Taunton Fire Department.
Firefighter Lima graduated from Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School in 2006 and had been working at the Department of Corrections since 2013 before joining Taunton Fire.
Firefighters Galligan, Babbit, Callanan and Lima are all temporarily assigned to Engine 1 out of Central Station for the time being. They will begin their E-911 training and certifications in the next few weeks. Once certified, they will be assigned to the dispatch center prior to being assigned to an engine company.
The other 22 graduates represented the fire departments of Beverly, Chelmsford, Devens, Douglas, Framingham, North Andover, Sudbury, Tewksbury, Wayland, Wellfleet and Wilmington.
The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy:
At the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, firefighter recruits learn a wide range of skills in an intensive 10-week program. Certified and more experienced firefighters lead classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training and firefighting practice. Students are given training in public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management, confined space rescue techniques and rappelling. Upon successful completion of the Recruit Program, all students have met national standards of National Fire Protection Association 1001.
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