43 Recruits Graduate Los Angeles Fire Department Academy
SAN PEDRO (CBSLA.com) — Forty-three recruits, including two women, graduated Thursday morning from the Los Angeles Fire Department Academy.
In sharp dress blues, the recruits marched in front of family and friends at the Harbor Recruit Training Academy graduation ceremony in San Pedro. The recruits spent 20 weeks in the academy.
"I'm excited, anxious, nervous, but mostly excited and ready to get my career started," graduate Nick Armentrout said. Armentrout is following in the footsteps of his father, who was a fire chief in Murrieta.
These graduates will be working for one of the busiest fire departments in the country, LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said.
"They could hit a big fire their very first day, cardiac arrest, traffic accident, auto fire," Terrazas said.
As part of the graduation ceremony, the graduates put aside their dress blues and donned fire gear to demonstrate their newly-gained skills.
About 20 percent of recruits do not make it to graduation because of the physical demands of the job.
"You kind of have to prioritize your time, with studying and working out, because you want to stay in shape," graduate Zaccaro said.
The 43 graduates will join the 3,300-member department as full-fledged firefighters Saturday.