On Tuesday, June 11, a total of 17 recruit volunteer firefighters from Whidbey Island’s three fire districts participated in the annual Island County Fire Academy graduation ceremony held at the Coupeville High School auditorium.

The academy is a joint interagency effort designed to teach new firefighters how to safely and effectively fight fires and rescue trapped victims according to state and federal standards. North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue and South Whidbey Fire/EMS all provide facilities, instructors and support during the five-month training academy.

The academy is comprised of almost 300 hours of classroom and practical skill instruction in subjects including incident command, building construction, fire investigation, hazardous materials and vehicle extrication. After successful completion of the Fire Academy, students must pass four state certification exams.

The firefighter students that graduated from the academy are Kyle Bryson, Luke Hillier, Jesse Carranza Jr., Christian Mendoza, Sherwood N. Kelley, Christopher Wathen, Baleigh Panther, Clinton Brown, Richard D. Brewer, Samuel P. Dove, Chloe S. Eriksen, Alexandra Bannister, Aiden Finley, Melody Wilkie, Ashton Helseth, Daniel Phillips and Logan Robinson.