STONEHAM — Chief Matthew Grafton is pleased to announce that five members of the Stoneham Fire Department graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy today.
Firefighters Anthony Luciano, Nick Rolli, Kyle Bowdidge, Brian Cronin and Steve Ternullo were among 32 firefighters from 18 departments to graduate from the academy’s Career Recruit Firefighter Training Program Class 273 on Friday, May 24. Graduates were recognized at a ceremony at the Department of Fire Services headquarters in Stow.
“Four of these members were hired through a FEMA SAFER Grant, and I’m happy to be able to increase the staffing levels so that we can maintain safety and meet the growing demands of the community,” Chief Grafton said. “This is a rigorous course and I commend firefighters Luciano, Rolli, Bowdidge, Cronin and Ternullo for their dedication and commitment to the program.”
The 10-week program teaches the essentials of fire and non-fire conditions, life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply, pump operation and fire attack.
Firefighter Ternullo is a 2011 graduate of Stoneham High School and served in the army as a military police officer from 2011 to 2016. He previously worked as an HVAC technician.
A 2013 graduate of Stoneham High School, firefighter Cronin received his bachelor’s degree in science marketing from Southern New Hampshire University and is a certified EMT. He previously worked as a fire equipment technician and volunteered for the Stoneham Fire Auxiliary.
Firefighter Bowdidge is a 2009 graduate of Stoneham High School and is currently attending Middlesex Community College. He is a member of the Army National Guard, a position he’s held since 2012. Firefighter Bowdidge is in the process of completing his EMT certification.
Firefighter Rolli is a 2014 graduate of Malden Catholic High School and received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Saint Anselm College. While in college, he completed an internship with the Hudson, New Hampshire Police Department and recently completed his EMT certification. Firefighter Rolli previously worked part-time for the Stoneham Department of Public Works.
Firefighter Luciano is a 2010 graduate of Arlington Catholic High School and was most recently a member of the Stoneham Department of Public Works. He previously worked within the facilities department for Stoneham Public Schools and the Burlington Department of Public Works. Firefighter Luciano recently completed schooling to obtain his Class B driver’s license (CDL).
The other graduates represent the fire departments of Acton, Billerica, Bourne, Devens, East Brigewater, Harwich, Hopkinton, Hyannis, Littleton, Lowell, Mashpee, North Andover, Peabody, Revere, Weston, Westwood and Woburn.
About the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy:
At the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, firefighter recruits learn a wide range of skills in an intensive 10-week program. Certified and more experienced firefighters lead classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training and firefighting practice. Students are given training in public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management, confined space rescue techniques and rappelling. Upon successful completion of the Recruit Program, all students have met national standards of National Fire Protection Association 1001.
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