TERRE HAUTE —
Ten new firefighters have joined the ranks of the Terre Haute Fire Department after graduating as the 2012 recruit class during a ceremony Friday.
The day also marked the ribbon cutting for the city’s new Emergency Responder Training Academy, located on North Brown Avenue.
“This facility has been seven years in the planning,” THFD Chief Jeff Fisher said inside the the 9,000-plus-square-foot building.
The building features two classrooms, a conference room and four offices. And it was funded primarily from donations, a Homeland Security grant and by user fees from the fire department’s EMS service.
One of the new classrooms was packed Friday afternoon by the family, friends and new co-workers of the department’s 10 newest firefighters. Receiving their badges and assignments were Mathew Osborne, Zachary Bechner, Brenton Lloyd, Christopher Overpeck, Andrew Lumaye, Josh Cottrell, Bertran Hay, Bram Sanders, Joshua Blackwell and Scott Lawson.
They all passed a 17-week training course that includes the Firefighter 1 and 2 designations, along with hazardous material training. They now move on to EMT and paramedic school as they join the department on probationary duty for the next year.
Mayor Duke Bennett congratulated the new firefighters on being the first group of recruits to use the new training facility.
He also commended them for taking on the important responsibility of ensuring public safety for people in the city.
The “grandfather” of the recruits — Overpeck -- addressed the audience with tales of the 17 weeks of training and the philosophy that the new recruits have adopted. Overpeck quoted famed fire chief Ed Croker of the Fire Department in New York, who said in 1908 that, “When a man becomes a fireman, his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work.”
“It’s a very true statement,” Overpeck said, noting that the weeks of training were tough on the recruits, but they developed strong bonds that will carry them through the work ahead.
And he also encouraged family members of the new recruits by welcoming them to a “worldwide family” that includes spouses, children, parents and siblings of firefighters, who support their loved one in the dangerous service to the public.
Family support is important for firefighters, agreed Indiana State Fire Marshal Jim Greeson.
In his day, Greeson said, firefighters didn’t talk to their families when they went home about what happened at work. But he encouraged the class of 2012 to do that, and for the families to listen and offer support.
“Your career goes by fast,” the veteran Indianapolis firefighter said. “In many ways, mine went by in a flash.”
Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
-
Dad's shiny new badge: 13-month-old Kate Lawson takes a closer look at her dad, Scott Lawson's, new Terre Haute Fire Department firefighter badge as her mother, Kristy Lawson, tries to pin it on Scott's uniform during a graduation ceremony Friday at the new Emergency Responder Training Academy. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
-
Celebrating with Dad: Six-year-old Lane Sanders helps his mom, Beth Pilarski, pin a new Terre Haute Fire Department badge on his dad, Bram Sanders', uniform Friday during a graduation ceremony for the 2012 Firefighter Recruit Class at the new Emergency Responder Training Academy. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
-
With them at all times: The 2012 Firefighter Recruit Class was required to carry this propeller with them at all times during their recruit training. (Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza)
Discussion
THFD initiates 10 firefighters, long-anticipated training site
- Local & Bistate
-
-
For Piper: Annual ‘Rush the Punter’ event dedicated to Dixie Bee student who died Wednesday after a short illness
Steve Weatherford’s “Rush the Punter” fundraiser at Fairbanks Park on Saturday was dedicated to a little girl who lost her life unexpectedly to pneumonia.
-
Vigo schools prepare to tighten belts
State funding for the Vigo County School Corp. will remain “pretty flat” for the next two years, said Donna Wilson, chief financial officer.
-
Veterans take to the trees
Cristal Bednar took photos of her husband, Justin, as he laboriously climbed his way up a “Dangle-Duo” to get to a zipline at Indiana State University’s Sycamore Outdoor Center.
-
Property owner seeks halt to Hulman Lake dam project
A Terre Haute property owner is seeking an injunction that would at least temporarily halt the city’s work on the Hulman Lake dam project.
-
Tornado veterans balance preparedness, practicality
Few things in nature are less predictable than a tornado. They can form quickly. They strike weirdly, leveling one building while leaving its neighbor untouched. They can fling a car a half-mile and turn a piece of lumber into a wall-piercing missile.
-
ISU unveils interactive Bayh Family Legacy Wall at school
A who’s who of Indiana Democrats paid tribute to Evan Bayh and several generations of the Bayh family Friday during a dedication of a new interactive display at Indiana State University.
-
Can you smell me now?
A contraband cell phone has been discovered by the Vigo County Jail’s youngest and most unique officer.
-
GIVING BACK: Steve Weatherford buys shoes for kids day before charity run
Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford, punter for the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, showed once again his generosity Friday by donating new athletic shoes to more than two dozen Vigo County kids.
-
N.Y. Giants honor Weatherford as ‘Man of the Year’
Dan Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, remembers the first time he saw Steve Weatherford as a freshman at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
-
Sunday recital at The Woods
A recital featuring songs from well-known composers is at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
-
Police investigating rash of car window shootings
Terre Haute Police are investigating a rash of shootings that have shattered car windows throughout the city.
-
City hospitals get passing grades for patient safety
Two Terre Haute hospitals have been ranked for patient safety by an independent organization that assesses safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans.
-
Three from Operation Turn and Burn sentenced in federal court
Three co-conspirators in a Wabash Valley methamphetamine trafficking ring were sentenced this week to several years in federal prison.
-
Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn must decide if he will sign a measure allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes after the state Senate approved legislation today.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 17, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday, based on jail records.
-
I-70 resurfacing project will close westbound exit ramp
PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces the resurfacing project on Interstate 70 will close the westbound exit ramp at Indiana 243 beginning Wednesday May, 22 at about 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. that same day to mill and resurface the ramp.
-
UPDATE: Fire damages buildings in downtown Greencastle
GREENCASTLE, Ind. — Fire badly damaged several buildings today near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.
-
Get outside this Memorial Day weekend
Although DNR campgrounds and cabins at state parks, state reservoirs and recreation areas are booked to capacity for Memorial Day weekend, some shelters remain available for picnics and other day-use gatherings.
-
Skateboarders, BMX bike riders working to improve area of city park they use
The sound of small wheels rolling across smooth concrete fills the air, accented by the clacking noise of a wooden skateboard coming to an instant stop on a metal edge before rolling on again.
-
Indiana State to host 2014 MVC baseball tourney
Build it… and they will come. The Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana State University made that famous line from the movie “Fields Of Dreams” reality Thursday.
-
Overlay recommended for 812 area code
The state agency that represents Hoosier utility customers is calling for a ten-digit solution to southern Indiana’s vanishing supply of 812 area code telephone numbers.
-
Elementary school saddened by student’s death
A 9-year-old Dixie Bee Elementary student died unexpectedly Wednesday evening as the result of pneumonia, said Vigo County Coroner Susan Amos on Thursday.
-
Vermillion CSX crossings undergoing maintenance
CSX maintenance crews are working on railroad crossings between Dana and Chrisman, Ill. this week and next, a CSX official said Thursday.
-
Beware of scams everywhere
Ever get a phone call in the middle of the night from a person claiming to be your grandchild, who unfortunately has been jailed in Canada and needs bail money?
-
INDOT to start work on Indiana 163 in Vermillion County
Maintenance crews will begin a pavement preservation project Monday on Indiana 163, between Indiana 63 and the Illinois state line west of Clinton.
-
Union Hospital community garden spots now available
Community gardening spots are now available at the Union Hospital Community Garden for Wabash Valley residents interested in planting and maintaining a garden but may not have the space. The garden is located west of the intersection of North Sixth Street and Seventh Avenue in Terre Haute at 1430 N. Sixth St.
-
Correctional officer remembered at memorial
Greene County native and Wabash Valley Correctional Facility Officer Timothy Betts was honored during a memorial ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
-
Money donated for Dresser sculpture
100+ Women Who Care of Vigo County on Thursday awarded a $20,200 grant to Art Spaces that will help make the Paul Dresser sculpture, “A Song for Indiana,” a reality.
-
Powerball jackpot quickly jumps to $550 million
The Powerball jackpot jumped to $550 million on Thursday — the third largest lottery in history — as dreamers in all but the seven states where the game isn’t played snatched up tickets for the minuscule chance at a life on easy street.
-
School bus carrying special-needs kids rolls over
INDIANAPOLIS — A school bus carrying special-needs students rolled over today on a highway near Indianapolis, injuring a dozen people including five children, state police said.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Raw: Tornadoes Spotted in Kansas
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
Obama Exhorts Good Deeds by Morehouse Graduates
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Winning Powerball Ticket Sold in Florida
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional'
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
Today in History for May 19th
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival
Twiggy, the Water Skiing Squirrel
Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony
Official: ‘Amazing’ No One Was Killed In CT Train Crash
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Beyonce Is Pregnant!
SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT
Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
Woman tricked into taking abortion pill
Emma Watson Goes Pantless
IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes
Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety
Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos
Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths
