Prince George’s County has 35 new firefighters ready to respond to emergencies and battle blazes. The new recruits graduated this month from the county’s fire and emergency services training academy.
And the class is already earning honors: The recruits became the first academy class to receive a unit citation — a recognition the department gives to award the achievements of a group of firefighters — during training.
The fire department said the recruits received the honor for raising money for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation while they were in training.
The group participated in a charity run and other activities to raise the funds, and donated $5,000 to the foundation the day of their graduation.
The department said five recruits received individual awards at the graduation ceremony.
» Damon Sinclair won the fire chief’s award, the highest honor for a member of the recruit class. The award recognizes a firefighter who displays leadership, integrity, personal growth and strong performance.
» Michael Kiefer won the emergency medical technician scholastic achievement award for having the highest scores on the EMT exams.
» Jonathan Di Iorio was awarded the fire suppression scholastic achievement award for receiving the top scores on the fire suppression evaluations.
» Michael Dommel received the instructor’s award, which recognizes the recruit who displayed the most personal improvement and dedication to helping others in the class.
» Jason Cruz received the memorial award, which honors a recruit who showed the most professionalism and courage.
