“It only makes sense if we work together, we should train together,” he said.
The graduation ceremony Friday was the culmination of an 11-week basic training program.
“I’m willing to bet a lot of you didn’t think 11 weeks would last so long,” Pasadena Fire Chief Dennis Downs said during a moment of levity at the ceremony.
But the training bestowed recruits with a sense of sacrifice for the good of the team and the knowledge that things they cannot do alone can be accomplished in a team atmosphere, he said.
“Even just 11 weeks later, you are transformed,” Downs said. “Sure, you’re still individuals, but you’re part of something bigger. You’re part of a team.”
That cooperative mentality has taken hold of the three Verdugo fire agencies, where jurisdictional boundaries have been erased — meaning whoever is closest to an incident responds to it — dispatch channels are shared and emergency response resources are combined, he added.
“Fire agencies have learned to rely on one another, just as you have learned to rely on each other through your experience at the academy,” he said.
Recruit class speaker Timothy Sell, who joined the Pasadena Fire Department on Friday, underscored the perseverance of the class, under conditions where instructors demanded the most out of them.
“They pushed us harder emotionally, physically and mentally than any of us thought possible,” he said.
The Burbank firefighters who were awarded their badges are Eric Ball, Devon Meister, Adrian Sirbike, Logan Shaw, Jeff Cortina, Michael Baldassano, John Washington, Jeff Coombs and Nicholas Rosche.
The Glendale firefighters who earned their badges Friday are Patrick Hambarchian, Kevin Stockton, Eric Ackerman, Eric Carlsen and David Guangorena.
The graduates will immediately start their new positions and be assigned a year of additional training, Propst said. During this probationary period, the firefighters will be tested to monitor their proficiency and skill advancement.
