TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The Terre Haute Fire Department held a special graduation for the 2024 class of new recruits.
After the ceremony at the Terre Haute Convention Center, Fire Chief Darrick Scott said this year’s class is the largest that he’s seen in his 33-year career.
“They worked hard, it’s their night, they are graduating, they are getting the badge pinned on them, they will find out their shift assignments and they are going out to company,” Scott said. “For the citizens in Terre Haute, we should be awful proud of these 15. I’m awful proud of our department, we have an open application process right now for the next group, which will probably be about 14 or 15 new firemen in the first quarter of next year.”
Among the 15 new firefighters, they all had some form of inspiration to make it to this point. 2024 recruit Cody Stevens says he just wants to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I think it’s every kid’s dream when they watch their dad leave in the morning to go to the firehouse to eventually be the guy that leaves the house to go into the fire truck,” Stevens said. “Every time you see a fire truck driving down the road, you just get that feeling inside of you, like wow I need to be there some day, getting to this point is a big accomplishment for me.”
The group endured four and a half months of extensive training and long days with their supervisors. 2024 recruit Matt Hinkel says that the high expectations and hard work brought the class closer together.
“It was a great feeling, we all met our expectations,” Hinkel said. “They set the bar really high, so we all had some huge shoes to fill. Today is just the beginning of a new chapter, the training and education doesn’t end here, so it’s a long road ahead of us, but we’re all super excited to be here and go from there.”
The graduates will now spend five days on their new shifts for training, then they will be counted as members of the Terre Haute Fire Department.
