Golden Valley Welcomes 6 New Firefighters

From the City of Golden Valley:

Posted January 23, 2020

Six new Golden Valley Fire Department recruits were sworn in last night and will soon start their training at the West Suburban Fire Academy (WSFA) to begin their careers as firefighters.

L to R: Somer Kvale, Ed Jeffreys-Berns, Casey Johnson, Chad LaForge, Brandon Operana, Kevin Jarta

At the Academy, the recruits will spend more than 200 hours in training specifically designed to prepare new firefighters to meet National Fire Protection Association standards. Training includes a mixture of classroom time and hands-on exercises where firefighters learn about topics ranging from vehicle extrication to dealing with hazardous materials to, of course, firefighting.

Upon completion of the Academy in June, the new firefighters will have earned three state certifications, Firefighter I, Firefighter II, and Hazardous Materials Operations. They will then move on to the next portion of their training— earning their Emergency Medical Responder certification.

Year-Round Recruiting

Although the GVFD’s recruiting events are scheduled in the summer, recruiting happens year-round. If you are interested in becoming a paid, on-call firefighter, GVFD staff are always willing to meet to answer questions and share experiences about how they make being a firefighter work with their lives. A 2020 recruitment timeline is
also published on the City website.

Call 763-593-8055 or visit the City website to learn more.

This press release was produced by the City of Golden Valley. The views expressed here are the author’s own.