GREENFIELD — Six new reserve firefighters have finished onboarding training at Greenfield Fire Department, the city announced on Aug. 10.
The firefighters will be officially sworn in before the public during the Greenfield City Council meeting in September, when councilmembers return from their August break.
The six new firefighters are in addition to the four who were sworn in earlier this summer, bringing the total reserve personnel up to 20, the fire department’s goal for backup personnel. The newest members of the team are all recent academy graduates of the Monterey Peninsula College program.
During onboarding training, the firefighters learned how to use their breathing tanks as well as assist others, use ladders, work with the fire hose, engine inventory and overall rescue operations. Their role within the fire department will be to serve as a fourth person on a fire engine.
All the part-time reserves have full-time jobs outside of their GFD duties.
“They fill the shift and provide a service, and in return we provide them with the experience and push them forward to get a full-time career,” said GFD Capt. Carlos Vega.
Vega noted the reserves gain some of their first experiences in firefighting by working with the fire department, and even if Greenfield doesn’t have upcoming full-time jobs, both parties are aware the experience is valuable when a position comes up, whether it’s with GFD or another department.
The reserves are willing to travel for the experience. Vega said one of the six newest reserves is from Salinas and the rest live outside Monterey County. Collaborations help bring attention, such as the controlled training burn on houses in April.
“Four of them helped us during the house burns and that’s how they got interested in being part-timers with us,” Vega said. “Even though they live in Santa Cruz County or Santa Clara County, they liked it enough that they wanted to come out here and be part of our team.”
That experience came through collaboration with Monterey Peninsula College, where those four were cadets in its program and helped with building preparations before the controlled burn.
The reserves have already begun working as of last week.
