New recruits joining the ranks at Fresno City Fire

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- New recruits are joining the ranks at Fresno City Fire.

Through speeches and video, Fresno Firefighter Recruits from Class 79 were honored for their hard work at their graduation ceremony Friday morning.

Recruits and their loved ones gathered in City Hall Chambers for the pinning ceremony.

The class began with 26, with 20 making it through the 12 weeks of training to graduation day.

George Petersen reflected on the rigorous training and evaluation that he and his classmates endured, as well as the guidance they received.

"Running 30 towers on our first day, pulling and loading thousands of feet of hose the following week, being in our turnouts from sunrise to sunset," George Petersen, Fresno Fire Recruit Class #79 Graduate.

For one recruit, Wade Kandarian, the day is a culmination of years of work that will soon have him working alongside his father, William.

"It's pretty surreal to get to that moment and have them here with me," said Wade Kandarian, Fresno Fire Recruit Class #79 Graduate. "It's a really good feeling."

"It's kind of unique. I mean, for here in Fresno, there's probably a handful of sons that followed their fathers on. It's super special for me and my wife to have him do that, so I'm getting choked up right now," said William Kandarian, Fresno County Fire Engineer.

The new class marks continued growth for the department, growing the daily number of firefighters on duty a day from just over 80 to more than 100 in the last three years. The chief said that's made an exceptional difference in how they can respond to fires.

"We've increased staffing on our fire engines from three to four and just the other day, we had a fire where two victims were rescued. Had we not had those four firefighters on that rig, we probably would've had to wait a little bit to get that next engine to go affect that rescue, so the impacts have been huge," said Chief Billy Alcorn, Fresno Fire Department.

The work isn't done quite yet, -- they still need to pass their probationary period, which will happen in 12 months.