Goshen – Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus attended the County’s Firefighter 1 graduation ceremony on Wednesday, December 18th at the Emergency Services Center in Goshen. Twenty-five departments participated, with 47 men and women graduating as firefighters.
Neuhaus was joined at the graduation by Orange County Sheriff Carl E. DuBois, Assistant District Attorney Chris Borek, Commissioner of Emergency Services Brendan Casey, Deputy Commissioner of Fire Services Vini Tankasali and Orange County Fire Training Chief Jim McCann.
“We are proud of this year’s Firefighter 1 class and the commitment they have made to their communities,” said Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus, a past graduate of the County’s Fire Training Program. “I commend the graduates, along with the training instructors, participating fire departments, and their friends and families on being a part of this impressive achievement.”
This year’s Firefighter 1 graduating class included men and women from the following County Fire Departments: Campbell Hall, Chester, Cronomer Valley, Fort Montgomery, Greenwood Lake, Highland Falls, Howells, Mechanicstown, Middle Hope, Middletown, Monroe, New Windsor, Orange Lake, Otisville, Pine Bush, Pocatello, Port Jervis, Salisbury Mills, Silver Lake South Blooming Grove, Vails Gate, Washingtonville, Washington Heights and Warwick. Firefighter 1 is a comprehensive and intensive introductory course required to become an Interior Firefighter.
The course is comprised of 129 classroom hours and additional take-home assignments. Courses were taught by Orange County Fire Instructors at the County’s Fire Training Center in New Hampton and also entailed lectures and hands-on training sessions.
“We are proud of this year’s Firefighter 1 class and their dedication to service,” Tankasali said. “It takes commitment and hard work to become a firefighter, and the completion of this course illustrates the willingness of each of the graduates to do what it takes to serve their communities. I offer my congratulations and best wishes as well as gratitude to them all.”
The following are the graduates of the Firefighter 1 class:
Campbell Hall-James Pace
Chester-Kyle Braun and Jesse Zapata
Cronomer Valley-Owen Scott
Fort Montgomery-Matthew McCue and Connor Salva
Grahamsville-Casey Grey
Greenwood Lake-Jason Jennings, Andrew Townsend, and Ritvars Zuks
Highland Falls-Emily Green
Howells-Anthony Henderson
Mechanicstown-Marc Armato and William Hills III
Middle Hope-Jacob Nelson
Middletown-Dustyn Ryder, Leighton Williams, and Michael Yutesler
Monroe-Michael Aiello, John Fox, Joseph Mazzucco, Ryan Miller, Sean Rumler, and Domenic Terracino
Monticello-Joseph Balzano, Angie Desmond, and Calvin Loadholt Jr.
New Windsor-Matthew Babcock and Anthony Napoli
Orange Lake-William Gooler and Benny Lucchese Sr.
Otisville-Kriztian-James Stevens
Pine Bush-Jorge Gonzalez-Amaya and Gavin Montanye
Pocatello-Dawn Morrissey
Port Jervis-Dustin Sebring
Salisbury Mills-Myles McGrail, Tristan Katzmann, and Lawrence Wood
Silver Lake-James Blair and Luis Salazar
South Blooming Grove-Mark Pozobut
Vails Gate-Gale Dingwell and Michael Farbent Jr.
Warwick-Kaitlyn Wendel
Washington Heights-Kelsey Petrick
Washingtonville-Michael Alsdorf
