The 13th Roanoke Valley Regional Fire-EMS Academy, consisting of 22 personnel from Roanoke County, and the cities of Roanoke and Salem, graduated Friday at the Roanoke Civic Center. Each recruit was called to the stage and pinned with their new firefighter badge as their families looked on.
Nine individuals representing Roanoke County Fire & Rescue, eleven representing Roanoke Fire-EMS and two representing Salem Fire-EMS Rescue spent 14 weeks receiving instruction and practical training in the areas of basic firefighting skills as well as emergency medical techniques. The training included: rope rescue, vehicle extrication, emergency vehicle driving, and hazardous materials mitigation skills, along with EMS certification. Most of the training was completed at the Roanoke Valley Regional Fire-EMS Training Center located on Kessler Mill Road in Roanoke County. The graduates received their station assignments immediately following the ceremony and some will start their first shift on Saturday.
Bringing the Fire and EMS departments together to learn, train, and grow provides consistency among all firefighter/EMS personnel, whether stationed in Roanoke County, Roanoke City or Salem, minimizing costs to each jurisdiction through shared instructors and equipment.
