Some new recruits have been hired by the Lafayette Fire Department to begin their training to become Lafayette firefighters.

It takes someone with a huge heart to be willing to run into a burning building or home to save someone else's life.

You have to respect the hard work of firefighters, especially in the summer months. It must be grueling to have to go into a burning building, and even more so when temperatures are in the upper 90s in South Louisiana.

Life has changed for so many people in Acadiana in the last couple of years, and because of that, there were fifteen vacancies that these young men will fill as part of the 106th class of Lafayette Fire Department recruits. In just like every other profession, retirements and resignations have meant that new opportunity has popped up in the department.

These men will be put through thorough training and will graduate in November of this year. The entire academy takes sixteen weeks to complete. Being a firefighter is no small job, and in addition to the job being extremely strenuous, so is the training.

These recruits will have to master the following categories to make it to graduation:

  • Academic learning in reference to firefighting
  • Practical learning in reference to firefighting
  • EMS training
  • Vehicle extrication
  • Technical rope rescue
  • Hazmat

Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit gave the following address to the new recruits:

We thank you all for choosing this noble profession in the public safety arena and encourage you to be the best public servant for our community. But, you must also understand that this job is very demanding and dangerous. Safety is paramount for you and the citizens you serve.

 

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