Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Greater Napanee Fire officially graduated 10 firefighters from its in-house training program, welcoming them on as volunteer recruits.
To mark the occasion, a ceremony celebrating the completion of hours of rigorous training was held at the Greater Napanee fire hall on Thursday.
Greater Napanee Fire Chief Bill Hammond led the ceremony for the recruits, who completed the program in May. The new recruits included Erin Elliott, Tina Duncan, Ian Stacey, Sierra Punchard, Ashley Scaletta, Nolan Hatch, Connor Clark-Alldread, Matthew Brannen, Nathan Thompson and Kenneth Meincke.
Along with a certificate, they were presented with a challenge coin.
Hammond explained the significance of the coin.
“Community, courage and bravery,” said Hammond. “We use these coins more as a reminder for what we signed up for.”
The chief also took time to acknowledge the family members who helped support the recruits through the training process. They too are now a part of the Greater Napanee Fire family.
“I’m in my 27th year, I learn every day, I learn from these folks because things change,” said Hammond, pointing to the members of his staff. “Thank you for supporting them. We know it’s going to be difficult sometimes. They may even come back and not want to talk but it’s ok. They will talk to you. And we have people to reach out to who are very supportive. You’re all in our family.”
Greater Napanee Fire had had six new hires since 2021. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Along with welcoming the new recruits, the ceremony was also a chance to formally recognize members of the volunteer program who had joined the full-time staff. Nathan Bruce, Daly Chadwick, Trevor Sager, Ken Meincke, Ashley Arnold and Nicholas McTaggart were all recognized as new hires.
Because of COVID, no ceremony had taken place in the last couple of years so the chief made note of the hires that had taken place since 2021.