Thunder Bay Fire Rescue is welcoming seven new firefighters to their team.
Chief John Hay tells us they’re excited to see their hard work pay off with recruit graduation.
“It’s a big event for us,” he notes, adding this means the recruits will now be available for duty. “They’re still on probation, they’ve still got a lot to learn, but it’s a very important benchmark in their career.”
The recruits are graduating after 14 weeks of training and certification.
Along with the graduation, firefighters also held a long-service award ceremony for veteran firefighters.
Several existing members were awarded medals for 20 and 25 years of service.
“Our staff have committed for very long periods of time to a very dangerous job, it’s very vital to the community, and that commitment is something we’re very proud of,”
The graduates are listed below:
- Bradley Gilbert
- Justin Grochowski
- Dale Watson
- Eric Breukelman
- Aaron Blake
- Kari Rikkonen
- Robert Bailey