Twenty-One Cadets Graduate from Hancock's Fire Academy
DECEMBER 12, 2019--Twenty-one cadets graduated from Allan Hancock College’s Fire Academy on Dec. 12 at the college’s Public Safety Training Complex in Lompoc.
The ceremony marked the end of a rigorous 18-week academy consisting of 624 hours of classroom and field instruction for the cadets in Battalion #144. The ceremony was also an acknowledgment that the cadets had not only completed that training but met and exceeded the state and national certification training standards for Firefighter I Certification.
“This is the core of what we do as a community college. We proudly train our public servants,” said Hancock Superintendent/President Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D. “On your very worst day, you want to make sure there is an Allan Hancock College graduate there to help you.”
Before the ceremony, the cadets gave a live demonstration of the skills they learned during their time at the academy; running fire hoses, dousing burning cars and extricating “victims” from vehicle wrecks outside the PSTC’s burn tower.
During the ceremony, Santa Barbara County Fire Department Training Division Capt. Matt Osborne delivered the keynote address. Osborne told the graduates that they were starting their careers with some of the very best training available.
“You’ve just been through one of the best fire academies on the West Coast,” said Osborne, who is also a Hancock Fire Academy graduate. “We count on the Hancock Fire Academy to give us the very best recruits.”
With their newly earned certification in-hand, the 21 cadets are now able to pursue their firefighting careers. One of the graduates, Cheyenne Braun, was hired by the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.
Speaking to the audience and his fellow graduates, Battalion #144 Class President William Neel thanked the program's instructors for preparing them for careers as firefighters.
“This academy brought 21 individuals together to become a fire family,” said Neel.
The full list of cadets in Battalion #144 included Corey Ackerman; Salvador Anaya; Cheyenne Braun; Clifford Elgin; Devin Garald; Blane Hemming; Jeremy Johnson; Paige Lockhart; Caleb Lopez; Tyler Moore; William Neel; Christian Pedone; Cameron Reitzel; Jacob Sabatino; Kelly Shepard; Gian Spallino; James Stevens; Thomas Sua; Diego Topete; Nicholas Wimmel; Gregory Zajic.
- AHC -
Photo Caption: Twenty-one cadets in Allan Hancock College’s Fire Academy showed off some of their skills for friends and family before graduating from the program at the college’s Public Safety Training Complex in Lompoc on Dec. 12.
