Three New Firefighters Graduate From Recruit School
Friday, June 17th, 2022
"You’re joining an organization that is based in service," said Dalton Fire Chief Todd Pangle. "Service to the citizens, service to your brother and sister firefighters, and lastly service to yourself. Always bring pride to yourself and to those that you serve."
With that piece of advice, three new firefighters officially began their careers with the Dalton Fire Department on Thursday night in a graduation ceremony at City Hall. Drew Sage, Zachary Carlson, and Christopher Stanley were each presented with their helmets as graduates of Recruit School 2022-01. During the ceremony, they looked back at the grueling 15 week program designed to test their physical and mental limits and to train them to be a part of one of the best fire services in the country.
At right: After graduation, firefighters (left to right) Christopher Stanley, Drew Sage, and Zachary Carlson (far right) pose with Chief Todd Pangle
"It was all pretty tough," said Christopher Stanley, a Whitfield County native and graduate of Southeast Whitfield High School. Stanley has previous experience as a firefighter, having joined the Whitfield County Fire Department in 2011. "I guess it’s more of a mental challenge than anything."
"It’s definitely prideful to be able to get through [recruit school]," said Drew Sage, a graduate of Coahulla Creek High School who was honored as the outstanding recruit from the recruit school session. "It was hard, I guess the hardest part was going through the strenuous PT and then still working hard afterwards all day."
"I would say [the hardest part] was SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) week, just with the heat and all of the physical training that you’re doing, it just wears you down," said Zachary Carlson, who comes to Dalton from the Chicago area after serving three years in the US Army. Carlson's brother is also a Dalton firefighter.
"I’m very proud, very proud to call myself a fireman here," Carlson said.
Thursday night's graduation ceremony was both a look back over the challenges of the recruit school and also an initiation of sorts as the three newest members of the DFD were welcomed and also challenged by veteran members of the department to continue to uphold the agency's high standards of excellence. Training division Chief Keith Dempsey read a long summary of the various training hurdles the recruits had to master on their way to earning their helmets and badges. Firefighter Dale Reed who oversees the physical training portion of the recruit school explained to the recruits' family and friends all of the grueling exercise that is part of the program from weightlifting to running to practical firefighting exercises. After those presentations, a ten minute video was shown with footage from the various stages of the recruit school.
Underlining the difficulty of the program is the fact that the recruit school started with five members, two of whom were not able to complete the training. Chief Pangle noted that the program is tough for a reason.
"Moving forward, you'll be asked to do things that nobody else wants to do," said Chief Pangle. "When people are running away, we're typically running toward."
Firefighter Justin Rishel, one of the department's training staff, told the new firefighters to look around the room at their fellow firefighters and the families gathered.
"They're now all counting on you," said Rishel. "You've just graduated from kindergarten. There's still a lot more work to do."
The Fire Department's next recruit school will be held in the fall, and applications are now open for those who want to join: Click here to apply.
Below: The three new firefighters are congratulated by Chief Todd Pangle and the rest of the DFD command staff
