COLLEGE
STATION – Fifty-three new firefighters from Texas, Massachusetts, Panama
and Canada graduated Nov. 17 from the 154th Firefighter Recruit Academy
conducted by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). The
graduates completed 12 weeks of classroom and hands-on training in firefighting
and fire science, safety, hazardous materials, pump operations, and more at the
Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station.
Approximately
400 friends and family attended the graduation ceremony at the Annenberg
Presidential Conference Center on the Texas A&M University campus. The
keynote address was presented by Chief Pat Ekiss of the Taylor Fire Department.
Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the H.D. Smith Building and tours
were offered of Brayton Fire Training Field.
The
Outstanding Student Award went to Matthew Ashman of London, Ontario, Canada,
and Colby Story of The Colony, Texas, received the Pat Barrett Fire School
Scholarship. Ruth Maidens of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, received the Academic
Award and the Run For Remembrance Scholarship, given in memory of Eric Wallace
and Greg Pickard, firefighters who lost their lives in the Knights of Columbus
fire in Bryan.
The
TEEX Firefighter Academy prepares entry-level firefighters to earn the Texas
Commission on Fire Protection certifications for Firefighter I, Firefighter II,
Hazardous Materials Awareness and HazMat Operations as well as ProBoard
Firefighter I, Firefighter II and HazMat Awareness and HazMat
Operations. The program is also eligible for college credit through
the Fire Science Technology degree program at Blinn College.
TEEX
has trained more than 5,000 certifiable firefighters since 1971, and has
graduates working across Texas, the United States and the world.
Learn more about
the TEEX traditional and blended learning Firefighter Academies.
Visit
the TEEX Firefighter Recruit Academy
facebook page.