Firefighters Graduate from Rookie School

“When I was a child, every little girl wanted to be a princess, and every little boy wanted to be either a cowboy or a fireman. At that very wonderful time of life, it seems that anything is possible. Childhood is a time for make believe, fairy tales and magic, but some fairy tales do come true.  But no longer is becoming a fireman just the dream of little boys. It is often the dream of little girls, too.”

These were the statements by Tom Worthan as he opened the Douglas County Fire/EMS Department Recruit Class 2012-01 Graduation Ceremony on May 8.

Eleven firefighters graduated into the Douglas County Fire/EMS Department after eight strenuous weeks of "rookie school," an intensive and exhaustive course consisting of classroom instruction and live fire training conducted by Fire/EMS Department staff. Most of the training took place at the County’s Fire Training Center located off Cedar Mountain Road. The eleven firefighters are:

• Christian Baker, a native of Douglas County and graduate of Alexander High School and EMT training at West Georgia Technical College;
• Jay Carey, a native of Hall County and graduate of EMT training at Lanier Technical College;
• Chuck Dobbs, a native of Cobb County and a graduate of EMT-Paramedic training at Chattahoochee Technical College;
• Stephanie Fouts, a West Georgia native and a graduate of EMT training at West Georgia Technical College;
• Bryan Lawrence, a Cobb County native and graduate of EMT training at Faithful Guardian Training Center;
• Bryce Reckner, a Florida native and a graduate of EMT-Paramedic training;
• David Schling, a native of Douglas County and graduate of Chapel Hill High School and EMT training at West Georgia Technical College;
• Freddy Waldrop, a native of Douglas County and graduate of EMT training at West Georgia Technical College;
• Alex White, a native of Douglas County and graduate of EMT training at West Georgia Technical College;
• Trenton Whitfield, a native of Douglas County and graduate of EMT training at Faithful Guardian Training Center;
• Ledia Wiley, a native of Douglas County and graduate of EMT training at Chattahoochee Technical College.

All eleven firefighters are now assigned to various shifts and stations throughout the Douglas County Fire/EMS system, and are on active duty.

All firefighters in the Douglas County Fire/EMS Department are first responders–cross-trained and cross-certified as firefighters and either EMT, Paramedic, or other medical certification–so that whomever is the first to the scene of an incident will have the necessary training to evaluate the situation and call in appropriate and applicable assistance.

During the graduation ceremony, each new firefighter received his/her certification, shield and badge and took the Oath of Office administered by Fire Chief Scott Spencer and Deputy Fire Chief Kim Ransom.

The instructors of the firefighter training selected Stephanie Fouts for the class leadership award in recognition of the leadership talents she displayed during the class.

Worthan concluded his remarks by thanking the firefighters for “fulfilling their dream, but, by their chosen profession, making sure that all of our citizen’s dreams can also be realized.”