34 newest firefighters graduate, join city’s ranks
Oaths sworn, the newest members of the city of Columbus Division of Fire descended a set of stairs Friday from the stage where they received their graduation certificates. On the risers of those stairs, four words were emblazoned: valor, passion, dedication and responsibility.
Thirty-four men and women embraced those qualities Friday after undergoing 35 weeks of training at the Columbus Fire Training Academy. City firefighters are also trained paramedics.
A dozen members of this latest graduating class are active or former members of the military and 11 members of the class have family members who are city firefighters themselves.
A quarter of the graduates identified as minorities, including three women.
“When you climb off that truck wearing your Columbus Division of Fire uniform, you represent one of the most powerful forces in the universe,” Lt. Tim Boyd told the graduates. “You represent hope.”
During Friday's ceremony, the dedication to service and helping others was highlighted for the graduates, who enter their careers as COVID numbers continue to be on the rise.
The division, which boasts about 1,600 firefighters, has been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. Steve Stein, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 67 in Columbus, said in May that the majority of firefighters had received vaccination.
The city has not released percentages of firefighters who have received the COVID
vaccine or have tested positive for the virus. Eighty firefighters have retired so far this year, according to the Division of Fire.
The ceremony on Friday, which was open to the public with masks and social distancing in place, marked the last graduation for Councilmember Mitchell Brown – the chair of City Council's Public Safety Committee – and Safety Director Ned Pettus, who was a firefighter himself before joining the city administration. Pettus is retiring at the end of the month and Brown will be retiring at the end of the year.
Neither Pettus nor Mayor Andrew J. Ginther was in attendance on Friday. However, a prerecorded video message from Ginther was played during the ceremony.
“When someone's life is at stake, they're not calling City Hall for help,” City
Council President Shannon Hardin said during the ceremony. “They're calling you.”
Hardin praised the graduates for their dedication to the city, especially with just over half (19) of the 34 graduates listing hometowns in central Ohio. The class also boasts two members from Pittsburgh, one from Tennessee, and the remaining dozen from elsewhere across Ohio, including multiple graduates from Cleveland.
Fire Chief Jeff Happ also took a joking jab at the city's Division of Police brethren, noting one graduate left the Columbus police academy to become a firefighter.
The graduating class will officially begin their careers on Monday at fire stations throughout the city. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner