Burbank and Glendale welcome new firefighters

After completing an intensive, 13-week training program, 21 new firefighters will be joining the Burbank and Glendale fire departments.

A joint graduation ceremony was held for the new recruits Thursday at Burbank’s Fire Training Center. Attended by dozens of family members, friends, local dignitaries and fellow firefighters, the ceremony included live demonstrations by the recruits, where they conducted a vehicle extraction and extinguished a car fire.

“This has proven to be a tremendous collaboration between our two cities and our two departments,” Burbank Fire Chief Tom Lenahan said.

New Burbank Fire Dept. Allen Scott waves to an acquaintance just before the start of the Class of 2016 Burbank and Glendale Fire Departments Firefighter Recruit Academy graduation ceremony, at the Burbank Fire Dept. Training Center in Burbank, on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Glendale F.D. had 13 graduates and Burbank had 8 graduates.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Lenahan called the ceremony just the first step in each recruit’s “journey of a thousand miles.” No longer students, he said their communities will now look toward them as role models, and they have to make the right choices on the job to reflect their new status.

He also encouraged the new firefighters to become deeply involved in their fire department — to always look for new ways to improve themselves and their organization.

“The fire service is continually changing, so you should strive to change and to create innovative ways to create that change,” he said.

Glendale Fire Chief Greg Fish commended the graduating class, calling them a “diverse and very talented group of people.” This year’s graduating class included two women and four Armenian Americans.

He echoed Lenahan’s comments about the group being role models, saying they can no longer be passive.

Fish described the firefighters after graduation as changing from thermometers to thermostats. During the past 13 weeks at the fire academy, they were only able to experience what was going on in their environment, and now they have the ability to influence it.

“[We expect you] to change the environment you are in, to make a humongous difference in the communities that you serve. That’s what we’re looking for,” he said.

Sarah Craig, who will be heading to the Glendale Fire Department, called the ceremony one of the best days in a firefighter’s life. She jokingly said that going through the fire academy is the best thing she and the others never want to do again.

Despite the sometimes grueling experience at the academy, Craig said it’s a place where lifelong bonds are made, and a family is formed among the recruits.

“What an incredible journey we were lucky to be a part of,” she said.

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Andy Nguyen, andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc