POUGHKEEPSIE – Five new firefighters were sworn in as members of the Poughkeepsie Fire Department at a city hall ceremony on Thursday. Two of the newest members join siblings who are already career firefighters in the department.
The ceremony, presided over by Mayor Marc Nelson with Chamberlain Jasmin Davis, was held in front of a large audience of family, friends, and current members of the department.
Jeffrey Glass, John Ineson, Shane Lawlor, Clint McCoach, and Oliver Rendon took their oath of office and will begin the Westchester Fire Academy next week for four months of training before returning to Poughkeepsie for additional training specific to their department.
The new firefighters are replacements needed with the retirement of several senior members of the department in the past several months. The retirees left with more than 100 years of experience in the job that career firefighters refer to as “The best job in the world.”
Line officer promotions were also celebrated at the ceremony. Brad Valentine was recently promoted to captain, and firefighters Walsh and Garon were each promoted to a lieutenant position.
The previous group of new hires that did not have their own ceremony were recognized as well. Firefighters Tom Germano, Omar Vasquez, Steve Henderson, Andrew Heady, Aiden Flynn, and Ethan Binford were welcomed to the profession by Mayor Nelson and the attendees. “The need has never been greater for first responders,” Nelson said, adding that city administration has more to do. “We need to recruit and retain all of our first responders.”
The City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department responded to more than 5,000 calls for service last year and is likely to surpass that number in 2023.
Under Chief Joe Franco and Deputy Chief Vincent Parise, the department has increased the amount of training for every member of the department, Parise said. Each firefighter who graduates from the academy will return to the department and…
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