Chief Matthew Grafton reports that the Stoneham Fire Department is welcoming a new firefighter who will begin the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy on Oct. 2.
Firefighter Jefferson Elien was sworn in before the Stoneham Select Board on Tuesday, Sept. 19. Elien will spend the next two weeks at the fire station meeting staff, training, and gaining familiarity with basic job functions.
He’s excited to begin his work at the fire department, in particular because of the EMS role that firefighters provide.
A native of Haiti, Firefighter Elien moved to Stoneham in 2014 and graduated from Stoneham High School in 2015. He is fluent in both English and Haitian Creole.
He served three years in the U.S. Air Force, and continues to serve with the Massachusetts Air National Guard at Otis Air National Guard Base, where he works as a GIS Specialist Imagery Analyst.
Firefighter Elien will become certified as a National Fire Protection Association Firefighter I and II in his time at the academy, and afterward will return to Stoneham Fire, at which time he will begin Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training.
