15 Reno firefighters graduated from their academy on Friday, and some will even be joining the line of duty as soon as Saturday morning.
We got a chance to speak with some of the graduates, and they shared how excited they are to get to work.
The extra help comes at a much-needed time, with all the big fires the community has faced over the past few weeks.
Jamison White, a Fire Academy graduate, said, "All of us are really excited to join Reno Fire and now get to go out and join the line and be part of the cause and help our guys on the line because they've been pretty tired and beat down, and we get to go out there and prove ourselves."
They told us going through this academy builds a bond amongst firefighters, and they are hopeful to be able to carry it for the rest of their lives.
White told us, "At the beginning of the academy you're very nervous, you don't get to talk much and stuff, but once we got to know each other, we leaned on each other when it was hard. Everyone had tough days. Some people had good days. We leaned on each other throughout the whole time, and at the end it just made us a tighter family."
They also recognize that their family members made their own sacrifices to get them through these last 20 weeks of intense training, saying they were challenged every day, both physically and mentally.
White also said, "The biggest thing I want to take away is our families. They went through a lot of it with us. They're here today. They get to see us graduate. Move on in our careers, so I am super excited."
Division chiefs tell us that with this new graduating class, the Reno Fire Department will be fully staffed again.
John Mandell, the Operations Division Chief of Reno Fire, said, "We're at full staffing. We're doing well. Our stations are open. Our engines are open here. We're at full staffing, and the summer is keeping us busy, so it's always good to have more help, and these guys are going to fill the seats, and we're doing good."
The department also mentions how these new firefighters will be able to give the ones who have been working hard to put out our current fire the break they truly deserve.
Mandell told us, "We are very grateful to have these 15 new firefighters join the line tomorrow. It's going to be a great help and relief for the other firefighters, for the better part of a month that have been working really hard on the line."
The department also tells us they hope these new firefighters can continue to remember why they joined this profession throughout the hard times they may face in the years to come in their careers.
