Columbia, CA…Columbia College’s Fire Academy will hold its graduation ceremony and presentation of Certification of Completion to 34 successful students of the Fire Technology Program. The event, which is open to the public, will be held at Columbia College, Thursday, April 28th, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Oak Pavilion. Students in the program have successfully completed the academic and manipulative training as mandated for a California Firefighter Level One. The students must still complete six months of full-time or one year of part-time field experience before applying to the state for Firefighter I Certification. “After receiving associate degrees in Fire Technology at Columbia College, several have already been hired by CALFire, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Tuolumne Rancheria Tribal Fire Department. “Some of the students will pursue jobs at the College Fire Department and others have obtained intern or volunteer positions,” said Shane Warner, Program Coordinator and college Fire Technology instructor.

In addition to the standard fire training classes, specialized training was delivered through a hands-on vehicle extrication class, basic wildland firefighting classes, and live fire suppression training which was conducted at the Twain Harte Fire Department Training Facility.

During the ceremony, the students will present an audiovisual presentation of their intensive 16 weeks of training. The rigorous training is designed to help serious candidates meet the requirements for demanding careers as professional firefighters, including more than 300 hours of academic and manipulative training, according to Shane Warner.

Dr. Angela Fairchilds, President of Columbia College, will deliver a welcome message and Firefighter David Port of the Alameda City Fire Department will deliver the Keynote Address. Firefighter Grant Miller, also of the Alameda City Fire Department, will present closing thoughts. Both Port and Miller are graduates of Columbia College’s Fire Technology Program.

The spring 2016 Columbia College Fire Academy graduates:
Albertson, Nicholas S.
Arambula, Joel F.
Berbena, Anthony R.
Bernat, Bryce A.
Brown, Andrew H.
Campbell-Taber, Jesse S.
Cancilla, Eric A.
Childers, Christopher C.
Christian-Billings, Carter T.
Cox, Elliott T. x
DeCoster, Caleb D.
DeHart, Justin L.
Duran, Grant P.
Ewing, Samuel D.
Gibson, Chase J.
Gomez, Edgar D.
Gragg, Daniel J.
Hartfield, John M.
Jones, Garrett
Logan, Nicolas P.
Masters, Colton F.
Medrano, Diego
Perez, Bryan
Perkins, Kameryn B.
Pierce, Blake E.
Rudd, Garrett J.
Sage, Andre
Scherf, Jason W.
Simonson, Aaron D.
Trent, Jackson A.
Vonada, Jacob M.
Warnock, Darren J.
Weiland, Michael J.
Ziganto, Joseph J.

For further information contact Shane Warner, Fire Technology Program Coordinator, at (209) 588-5308.