THUNDER BAY - Thunder Bay Fire Rescue welcomed seven fresh faces to the team on Saturday.
The graduating recruit class of 2019 was welcomed at the Fire rescue training Centre, while some long-time members of the force were also honoured.
Fire chief John Hay was in the shoes of these men 35 years ago when he first joined the force.
“It’s 22 weeks of work. Every day is a lot of work for them and they did a very good job,”
He received a long-term service medal for his tenure on Saturday.
The advice he gave the new firefighters was all about living up to the job’s title.
“Be professional on and off the job,” he said.
“Professionalism covers everything we want them to do. To train, to learn, to be compassionate, smart, aggressive… We’re never off duty.”
It’s something class valedictorian Matt Schmidt says he will attempt to strive for each and every day.
“It means treating everyone you encounter with the respect you want for themselves,’ he said. “Firefighters go to people’s worst day of their lives. So they’re in a very vulnerable position and we had to be respectful of that.”
For his valedictorian speech, Schmidt spoke about the bond he formed with the six other men graduating on Saturday, including everything from rigorous testing, to cooking competitions.
”It’s pretty cool to be the voice of these guys,” Schmidt said. “We all talked about it beforehand, so it wasn’t just my words it was everyone together.”
The former Lakehead men’s basketball player worked at St. Joseph's Hospital and worked towards joining Thunder Bay Fire Rescue for the last six years.
“We’ve heard from many senior firefighters the real work starts now. We know a lot from training, but at the same time we don’t. It’s all about learning on the job now."
Schmidt says the most important part of the ceremony was taking the time to recognize and thank his family.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my wife and parents support,” he said.“It’s a lot of sacrifice.That’s really what our families are doing for us.”
The recruiting class will be on the trucks starting next Thursday.
