Twenty-six Maine firefighters have completed rigorous training and graduated from the Maine Fire Service Institute’s Officer Academy to prepare them for leadership roles at fire departments across the state.
A graduation ceremony was held Saturday, March 18, at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast. The Maine Fire Service Institute is a department of SMCC and provides training and education services to Maine’s firefighters. It is located on SMCC’s Midcoast Campus in Brunswick.
The weeklong academy focused on legal issues, budgeting, media relations, conflict resolution and other topics that are part of the job for chiefs and other fire officials. Those who complete the academy meet the training requirements for national fire officer certification through the Pro Board Fire Service Professional Qualifications System, also known as Pro Board.
Graduates from this year’s Officer Training Academy came from fire departments in Bar Harbor, Biddeford, Caribou, Durham, Gardiner, Presque Isle, Rockland, Saco, Sanford, Waterville and Winslow.
Photo caption: Participants in this year’s Maine State Fire Institute Officer Academy were, in alphabetical order, Carl Anderson (Rockland Fire Rescue); Zachary Apgar (Old Orchard Beach Fire Rescue); Ruston Barnard, Jr. (Rockland Fire Rescue); Kyle Bartley (Presque Isle Fire Rescue); Adam Burgess (Winslow Fire Rescue); Braxton Campbell (Waterville Fire Rescue); Waylon Capp (Winslow Fire Rescue); Michael Cole (Rockland Fire Rescue); Jason Crocker (Biddeford Fire Rescue); Lon Cyr (Caribou Fire Ambulance); Scott Dow (Caribou Fire Ambulance); David Dutremble (Biddeford Fire Rescue); Scott Jackson (Caribou Fire Ambulance); Joshua Johnson (Gardiner Fire Rescue); Matthew Leach (Biddeford Fire Rescue); Frank Lee (Saco Fire Rescue); Patrick Lowe (Rockland Fire Rescue); Marc Martin (Saco Fire Rescue); Corey Pelletier (Old Orchard Fire Rescue); Donald Pelletier (Old Orchard Fire Rescue); Adam Salve (Durham Fire Rescue); John Sanders (Bar Harbor Fire Rescue); Timothy Sevigny (Biddeford Fire Rescue); Joseph Stefano (Sanford Fire Rescue); Joshua Webb (Gardiner Fire Rescue); and Jon Zumwalt (Bar Harbor Fire Rescue).