The Saugus Fire Department bolstered its ranks on Monday with the graduation of Firefighter Jonathan Wallace from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. And, in a class of 31 recruits, Wallace earned special recognition — he was given the Richard N. Bangs Outstanding Recruit Award.
Wallace was the lone Saugus firefighter to complete the 10-week academy during this session, with the rest of the class made up of firefighters from Bedford, Danvers, Dracut, Holden, Marlborough, Melrose, Milford, Nahant, Natick, Newton, North Andover, North Reading, Phillipston, Reading, Revere, Salem, Seekonk, Tewksbury, and Weston. Saugus Fire Chief Michael Newbury was on hand for the ceremony, held at the state academy in Stow.
State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine delivered remarks to the graduating class, welcoming its members to what he called “the best job in the world.”
“I credit this institution for providing countless opportunities for me to develop my skills, expand my knowledge, and to challenge myself,” Davine said, referencing the very academy the graduates had just completed. “No doubt this is a difficult job. Firefighting is not for the faint of heart.”
“Thank you for answering the call to serve,” he added.
Davine then introduced the Outstanding Recruit Award, named after Bangs, a former chair of the Massachusetts Fire Training Council, following his retirement.
The award is given to one student in each class who excels during the training program, based on their total academic and practical skills, as well as testing and evaluations. This year, that student was Wallace, who was hired last August.
Newbury was called to the stage as Wallace was announced as the winner of the award and embraced his fellow Saugonian.
After announcing the award, Deputy Director of Training Dennis Ball told Wallace he was the “class smarty-pants now” and asked him what the best thing about Saugus was, adding if Wallace responded correctly he would not have to speak. But, Wallace failed Ball’s test — the answer he was looking for was “the bus to Lynn” — and took the stage.
In his remarks, Wallace thanked his classmates.
“I just want to talk about what an amazing class this is,” he said. “We motivated each other to bust our asses day in and day out.”
Wallace, who was joined on stage by his wife and children after winning the award, also offered thanks to those who supported the class over the course of the program, including its members’ departments and instructors.
He made special note of recruits’ families.
The academy was “not an easy 10 weeks on the homefront for all of us,” he said, adding that the members of the class “couldn’t have done it without” the support of their families.
