Clarksville, TN – On Friday, March 29th, five new firefighters were sworn by Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan during a short ceremony at City Hall. The five new firefighters who took the oath to protect and serve the residents of the City of Clarksville were Garrett Hogan, Tim Joyner, Cole McWhirter, Brandon Powers and Matt Cunninghan. Their family and friends were on hand to witness the ceremony.
These five new recruits went through intensive testing to make sure they were the right applicants for the job.
The testing included a written test, physical agility test, board interview, fire chief interview, lift test, psychological test and background check. Once the recruit gets the call that they are hired, the real fun begins.A recruit firefighter goes through an intense 200+ hours of training before they are assigned to a shift. A new firefighter out of training is certified in First Aid, CPR-AED for a Rescuer, TFACA intro to Fire Service, TFACA Basic Firefighter and TEMA Hazmat Awareness and Operations. All of the hours of training help to protect the firefighter and to better serve the City of Clarksville.
Afterwards the ceremony family and friends were invited to the Clarksville Fire Rescue Training Center located at 802 Main Street to watch their loved one undergo the last step in their training. All of the new recruits have to go through the burn building as part of a live fire exercise.