Chief Scott Fournier is pleased to announce that two members of Berkley Fire Rescue graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Call/Volunteer training program.
On Monday, May 23, Berkley Firefighters Joseph Inacio and Justin Bernoskevich were two of the 35 graduates from the MFA’s Call/Volunteer Training Class #97, which officially graduated from the training program on Monday. Graduates were recognized in a ceremony at Bridgewater State University last night.
“On behalf of the department, I would like to congratulate Firefighters Inacio and Bernoskevich for successfully completing their training at the Call/Volunteer Firefighting Academy,” Chief Fournier said. “During this training program, they had the opportunity to learn invaluable firefighting skills that they will now be able to build upon during real-life scenarios with our community. I’m confident that with this training under their belt, they will more than adequately serve the community.”
During the 16-week training program, participants learn the basic skills they need to respond to emergencies, including lessons on fire behavior and suppression, public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management and self-rescue techniques. The program involves classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training and live firefighting practice.
Graduates of the program complete 240 hours of training, all on nights and weekends. To graduate, they must demonstrate proficiency in life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply, pump operation and fire attack techniques. Upon completion of the training, they have also met the standards of National Fire Protection Association 1001.
The other graduates represented the fire departments of Acushnet, Chatham, Dartmouth Fire District 1, Fairhaven, Halifax, Lakeville, Marion, Medway, Plympton,
Raynham, Rehoboth, Rochester, Truro, Wareham and West Bridgewater.
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