Members of Recruit Class 145 celebrate their graduation. Photos by Douglas Morrison.
by Pearl Castillo
Fifty-two recruits graduated from the Los Angeles County Fire Department Recruit Training Academy on the morning of Friday, December 23, 2016. The graduation ceremony took place at the Cecil R. Gehr Memorial Fire Combat Training Center.
Speakers included Fire Chief Daryl Osby, Battalion Chief Patrick Errett and class valedictorian Angel Orantes.
Chief Osby emphasized the Department’s core values—caring, commitment, community, courage, integrity and teamwork—and encouraged the graduates to have the mentality of being “an asset, a benefit, and blessing (as) a Los Angeles County firefighter.”
“Train as if your life depends on it, because it does,” said Chief Errett. “This isn’t the end; this is the beginning. I look at you guys and gal and see the future of my fire department,” added Chief Errett.
During his speech, Orantes praised the training staff and his fellow recruits: “Recruit Class 145 is people who care, working hard to support others and overcome adversity; we came together as a family,” he said. Orantes is a first generation American who holds a degree in Economics from San Diego State University.
Natalie Nardone was the only woman among the 52 graduates. Prior to entering the recruit academy, Nardone’s husband recommended that she become a firefighter. “I thought my husband was crazy because I had never seen a female firefighter, until he (Nardone’s husband) introduced me to one in the Department and it just went from there,” said Nardone.
Once in the recruit academy, “Everything was excellent, I had a great experience,” she said. “I was already physically active when I went into the academy, so I didn’t consider the PTs (performance trainings) in the morning to be difficult.”
Regarding advice for female or future recruits, she says: “Stay dedicated and motivated. There’s a lot of pulling the hose and and throwing the ladder. I’d recommend doing squats and practice on having leg strength, and to make sure your cardiovascular system is on point.”
After the ceremony, the graduates put aside their dress blues and donned their personal protective equipment to demonstrate their new skills, including putting out a fire and rappelling down a building.
The Recruit Class 145 graduates began their assignments on Saturday, December 24. Congratulations to the graduates of Class 145:
- Fire Fighter Billy Applegate
- Fire Fighter Matthew Arledge
- Fire Fighter Christopher Baier
- Fire Fighter Michael Basen
- Fire Fighter Christopher Boettcher
- Fire Fighter Andrew Carnes
- Fire Fighter Phillip Cook
- Fire Fighter Jacob Dao
- Fire Fighter Adam Digby
- Fire Fighter Kenneth Donkersgoed
- Fire Fighter Dallas Drown
- Fire Fighter Fredrick Fielding
- Fire Fighter David Garcia
- Fire Fighter Steven Gonzalez
- Fire Fighter Alexander Garcia
- Fire Fighter Timothy Hast
- Fire Fighter Tyler Hemmer
- Fire Fighter Kyle Herriott
- Fire Fighter Joshua Howard
- Fire Fighter Corey Hughes
- Fire Fighter Joseph Jones
- Fire Fighter Kelly Judd
- Fire Fighter Mason Klein
- Fire Fighter Ryan Koberling
- Fire Fighter Jared Kurtz
- Fire Fighter Stephen Lelliott
- Fire Fighter Keith Lockwood
- Fire Fighter Aaron Lopez
- Fire Fighter Darren Mack
- Fire Fighter Brandon Martin
- Fire Fighter Chase Mottram
- Fire Fighter Natalie Nardone
- Fire Fighter Joshua Nersissian
- Fire Fighter Angel Orantes
- Fire Fighter Raymond Ortiz
- Fire Fighter David Parrilla
- Fire Fighter DeWayne Patmon
- Fire Fighter Daron Payne
- Fire Fighter Nicholas Pitchford
- Fire Fighter Sean Quigley
- Fire Fighter Patrick Schaeper
- Fire Fighter Rodolfo Sedano
- Fire Fighter Michael Shifflett
- Fire Fighter Kyle Sidebotham
- Fire Fighter Zachary Steele
- Fire Fighter Kevin Stickles
- Fire Fighter Rothana Tan
- Fire Fighter Curtis Tillinghast
- Fire Fighter Jordan Vigil
- Fire Fighter Christopher Williams
- Fire Fighter Nathan Wiseman
- Fire Fighter Jesse Wood
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