TUCSON, Ariz. — Tucson Fire has added 33 new faces to its roster, following academy graduations on Thursday.
The recruits are from Tucson Fire's Class of 25-1.
Tucson Fire Department says this class includes six legacies who followed a family member into the fire service, including Gracie McDonough, daughter of Chief Sharon McDonough.
According to TFD, Gracie is part of TFD's first mother-daughter legacy and the first recruit to complete the academy as the child of a sitting fire chief.
Chief McDonough says it's an extra special day for her.
"I'm so happy to have her join this profession that I have loved so dearly for almost 35 years now, so to see her come into the world of firefighting makes me very proud," Chief McDonough said. "Her father is also a retired firefighter, and so is her uncle, so it's kind of a family affair, as you see in the fire service routine. We love our careers and we invite our children to join us."
Gracie said what she and her class went through was hard, but rewarding.
"I feel nervous, but I definitely feel prepared with all the training we got and everyone that helped us get to where we are," Gracie said. "I mean there's always new things, so I'm a little nervous cause you never know what to expect, but I feel ready. I feel excited."
Chief McDonough acknowledged how brutal the academy is.
"It tests their willpower, it tests their mental astuteness, it tests their dexterity, their fitness," Chief McDonough said.
Chief McDonough says adding this class will allow TFD to continue to be responsive to their community, fast and efficiently.
Recruit Luis Burrell shared how much it means to be part of the TFD family.
"It means the world to me. I was in the 24 -1, which is the previous class two classes ago, things didn't work out. I kept my head up. I told myself this is what I wanna do. I wanna be a firefighter, but not just for any department. I wanna be a firefighter for Tucson Fire," Burrell said.
Chief McDonough says over 170 firefighters are retiring or eligible to retire in the next year, 17 this month, so adding more firefighters is always a need.
"And so as we bring on this new group of 33, we absorbed that quite quickly, and we'll be running another class soon as well," Chief McDonough said.
These new firefighters report to work Sunday, kicking off their probationary “boot” year.
"So we'll build up on that foundation, make them a little sharper, a little better and let them see how it really applies to a true emergency rather than a mock emergency — which is what they've learned at the academy," Chief McDonough said. "There will always be something new , you know, even today I'm 35 years in and I'm still learning. I'm still a student of the job and they will be too. There's something new every day."
Congratulations Tucson Fire Class of 25-1.
