The Hawaii Fire Department held commencement exercises for its 44th Firefighter Recruit Class on June 10 at Nani Mau Gardens, Garden Court Restaurant in Hilo.
The new firefighters are Kevin Yamauchi, Tyson Pili, Justin Lee, Tanya-Jo Moller, Keanu Bergfeld, Richard Peters, Maxwell Baum, Matthew McMullin, Joshua Hatori, Micah Tanoai, Justin Matsu, David Fisbeck, Kekoa Eskaran, Paul Umemoto, Timothy Frederickson, Neil Biddix, Anson Arakaki, Harvey Lyman III, Dustin Lopez, John Nickens, Francis Blas III, Anthony Kim, Jake Penny, Jonathon Ucker, Damian Sabater-Hart.
The class underwent months of intensive instruction and classroom exercises and fieldwork. These included fire and rescue training, wild and fire training, rescue operations familiarization, aquatics competency certification, hazardous materials response and driver training.
Having successfully met the all criteria of their recruit training, the 44th Firefighter Class was presented to Fire Chief Darren Rosario and Deputy Fire Chief Renwick Victorino, who issued them their badges. As is customary in fire service, the firefighters then chose a family member or friend to pin their badge on their uniform.