Two More Recruits Join Haverhill Fire Department Ranks Following Academy Graduation Friday

Haverhill Firefighters Raymond Robinson and Brendan Sargent graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. (Courtesy photograph.)

Two more firefighters join the Haverhill Fire Department following their graduation Friday from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.

Firefighters Raymond Robinson and Brendan Sargent are the latest in a surge of a new recruits to join the department, filling vacancies created by retirements as well as taking 16 new positions paid by a $4.1 million federal grant that was formally awarded last November. Robinson and Sargent were among 31 firefighters that graduated from Class 321 of the 50-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training Program.

They join new firefighters going to work in Acton, Beverly, Boxborough, Gloucester, Ipswich, Natick, Northborough, Plymouth, Randolph, Scituate, Southborough, Wellesley and Woburn.

State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine discussed the high level of training recruits receive.

“Massachusetts firefighters are on the frontlines protecting their communities every day, and today’s graduates are needed now more than ever. The hundreds of hours of foundational training they’ve received will provide them with the physical, mental and technical skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely.”

Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Director Eric Littmann further explained, “Through consistent classroom instruction and practical exercises, today’s graduates have developed the tools they’ll need to work seamlessly with veteran firefighters in their home departments and in neighboring communities as mutual aid.”

Last month, Haverhill’s first female career firefighter, Taylor Gillette, graduated from the Academy along with seven others from Haverhill—one of the city’s largest contingents of recruits.

The Richard N. Bangs Outstanding Student Award, presented to one recruit in each graduating career recruit training class, was presented to Firefighter Clay Whitley of the Gloucester Fire Department. The award is named for the longtime chair of the Massachusetts Fire Training Council and reflects the recruit’s academic and practical skills, testing and evaluations over the course of the 10-week program.

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