12 cadets graduate 1st Fire Expolorer program in decades

By Ethan Hartley
Posted 5/22/18

By ETHAN HARTLEY -- The Warwick Fire Department for the first time in about 30 years celebrated on Saturday morning the graduation of a class of 12 cadets who completed the Warwick Fire Explorers program.

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12 cadets graduate 1st Fire Expolorer program in decades

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The Warwick Fire Department for the first time in about 30 years celebrated on Saturday morning the graduation of a class of 12 cadets who completed the Warwick Fire Explorers program.

The 12 cadets ranged in age from 14 to 21 and began the classes in October of 2017, going through three meetings and classes each month from October to May engaging in many of the same kinds of skills tests and educational classes undertaken by firefighters.

“They get a little taste of everything we do and kind of gives them an intro of what they have to do and how to get started,” said Corey White, a five-year veteran of the department and the leader of this group of fire cadets.

White said the cadets do everything from learning about CPR and EMS exercises, special operations training and performing the same physical fitness test performed by firefighters to graduate from the fire academy and become fully-fledged firefighters.

On Saturday morning at the Station 8 firehouse off Post Road, the 12 cadets earned their certificates and got to show off what they learned to the gathering of family, friends and firefighters who were on hand for the ceremony.

While one group stormed into the training facility located behind the station while hauling hoses and saving a “victim” from a simulated fiery fate after riding in on Warwick fire apparatus, another group prepared to rappel down a structure demonstrating a special operations high angle rope rescue. The cadets wore all the same gear worn by firefighters – adding about 100 pounds of burden to their movement, said White – while those rappelling used the same equipment special operations would utilize.

“They quickly found out that the training we do is mentally and physically exhausting, and they gave 110 percent every day and every class,” White said during the conferring of their certificates.

The cadets were given words of encouragement by former fire chief James McLaughlin and acting chief Marcel Fontenault, who said it was likely that some of them have been “bit by the bug,” and will want to pursue becoming a firefighter after the experience.

“Hopefully all 12 of you will be in the fire academy in the not so distant future,” echoed McLaughlin.

White pointed out how some of the battalion chiefs who are approaching retirement were actually members of the last Fire Explorer class to graduate some 30 years ago.

The full list of graduating cadets includes: Nicholas Conley, Samuel Hicks, Andrew Hilton, Kyle Joyce, Zachary Johnson, Gabriel LeBeau, Jeffrey Parisi, Max Savaria, Andrew Calise, Ryan Conley, Bradford Lacaillade and John Medeiros

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