More than 100 family members and friends watched as 28 cadets graduated Friday from the Allan Hancock College Fire Academy.
The ceremony was held at the college’s Public Safety Training Complex in Lompoc.
The cadets went through 17 weeks of rigorous training on live fire control, loss prevention, emergency care, fire behavior, investigation, vehicle extrication, confined space rescue, low-angle rope rescue, firefighter survival techniques, and more.
"It was a long journey to get to this point — blood, sweat and tears," said Will Faraghan, Fire Academy graduate. "It’s a good day, gonna have fun,"
Prior to Friday’s ceremony, recruits demonstrated their new skills inside and outside of the complex’s six-story burn tower.
Nearly half of the 28 cadets already have jobs lined up with fire agencies, including the United States Forest Service, CAL FIRE, Santa Barbara City, Santa Barbara County, Painted Cave, and Morro Bay fire departments. The remaining cadets are in the process of applying and interviewing with other departments across the state.
