Columbia College Graduates Fire Technology Participants

Columbia College’s Fire Academy will hold its graduation ceremony and presentation of Certification of Completion to 14 successful students of the Fire Technology Program. The event, which is open to the general public, will be held Friday, December 14th, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Dogwood Forum.

The certificates will be awarded based on the student’s successful completion of the academic and manipulative training as mandated for a California Firefighter Level One. The students must still complete six months of full-time or one year of part-time field experience before applying to the state for Firefighter I Certification. “Some of the graduates have been hired by the College Fire Department or they have obtained intern or volunteer positions at local fire departments since entering the academy” said Shane Warner, college fire technology instructor. “Many of the students will pursue jobs in the fire service after receiving their associate degrees in fire technology at Columbia College.”

In addition to the “routine” fire training classes, specialized training was delivered involving vehicle extrication class, basic wildland firefighting classes, and live fire suppression training which was conducted at the Turlock’s Fire Department Training Center.

Dennis Gervin Ph.D., President of Columbia College, will deliver a welcome message. Fire Chief Garrett Contreras from Hayward Fire Department will deliver the Keynote Address. Fire Captain Dean Wimberley of CAL FIRE will present closing thoughts.

Family and friends will view a student produced audiovisual presentation of their intensive 16 weeks of training. The rigorous training is designed to help serious candidates meet the requirements for demanding careers as professional firefighters, including more than 300 hours of academic and manipulative training, according to Shane Warner.

The fall 2012 Columbia College Fire Academy graduates:

Kenny Moody
Michael Cowen
Derek Sprague
Ian Fremd
Ben Hess
Daniel Mathews
Tyler Scherf
Trevor Quisol
Corey Sciotto
David Shields
Devin Martinez
Esteban Felix
Ian Aiton
Julianne Baker

For further information contact Shane Warner, Fire Technology Program Coordinator, at (209) 588-5308.

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Coni M. Chavez
Executive Assistant to the President
Columbia College
11600 Columbia College Drive
Sonora, CA 95370
(209) 588-5115 • (209) 588-5161 fax
chavezc@yosemite.edu