Release #457-00

 

Contact:	Sunny Mindel / Curt Ritter (212) 788-2958
	Dave Billing (718) 999-2056 (FDNY)

MAYOR GIULIANI AND FIRE COMMISSIONER THOMAS VON ESSEN PRESIDE
AT GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR 141 PROBATIONARY FIREFIGHTERS

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen presided at a graduation ceremony at the New York Technical College in Brooklyn for 141 probationary firefighters. The new Firefighters have successfully completed a rigorous 13-week training program that has prepared them for the many challenges they will face in their new careers.

Included in the group were 139 EMT’s and Paramedics who were the first ever to be promoted to the rank of Firefighter. The class represents the largest percentage of minority recruits, 28 percent, in any single class to enter the Department’s Training Academy. In addition, today’s ceremony marks the first Probationary Firefighters class since 1982 to have two female firefighters graduate, Firefighter Aisha Bauman and Firefighter Tracey R. Lewis.

“Today’s graduating class represents the most diverse class in the Department’s history,” said Mayor Giuliani. “This new class of highly skilled Firefighters will repeatedly demonstrate their selfless dedication and their willingness to put their lives on the line to help those in need. Over the last seven years, the Department has continued to build upon its proud history of excellence, setting new standards in virtually every area of achievement. And with the help of these brave individuals who graduate today, that tradition of excellence will endure long into the future.”

Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said, “I am proud to stand here today, and to congratulate all of you, as you embark on what I believe to be the most admirable and rewarding profession one can choose. Together, we will work to focus our attention on the basics -- protecting the lives and property of over seven and a half million New Yorkers. It should bring them peace of mind knowing that you have what it takes to respond swiftly and efficiently to all emergencies. I am confident that you will show yourselves to be as skilled in fire operations as you are in emergency medical procedures, and, like all that have come before you, you will continue to give this Department and this city the very best that you have.”

Of the 141 new Firefighters, 104 began their career in the Fire Cadet Program. The New York City Fire Department Cadet Program began in 1997 to help encourage inner-city youth to join the ranks of New York’s Bravest. Today, the program gives young men and women who possess a New York City high school diploma the chance to gain their EMT certification and work for the Fire Department’s EMS Bureau while waiting to take the Firefighter exam. As employees of the Fire Department, the exam was administered as a promotional opportunity.

The class Valedictorian was Firefighter Joseph M. Castellano, the Salutatorian was Firefighter Brian C. Difusco and the Physical Fitness award was presented to Firefighter William A. Downey.

www.nyc.gov