Grand Junction Fire Department holds its graduation for recruits

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - Friday evening, the Grand Junction Fire Department had its graduation at the Convention Center.

Nine recruits graduated after being sworn into the fire department. The graduation started with a bagpiper and a few speeches presented by mayor pro team Abe Herman, firefighter Rick Swales, Recruit Jacob Dillon, and fire chief Ken Watkin before the badge pinning began. After the badge pinning, the recruits had the oath before getting sworn into the Fire Department.

“It’s very honorable for me. And I know it’s honorable for my fellow classmates. Hard work definitely does pay off and sometimes you don’t realize it because you are stuck in that grind. But now that the days here I think we’re all just are happy and we’re excited,” said Jacob Dillon, a recruit of the Grand Junction Fire Department.

Dillon mentions that training lasted twenty weeks, where four days a week, they were up at 7 am. They had training in foundation engines, truck survival, wildland EMS, and rescue blocks.

After twenty weeks, the nine recruits who have undergone rigorous and demanding training and are now firefighters, will be at different stations across the Grand Valley.

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