Ozark County volunteer firefighters among graduates of intensive firefighting academy hosted by Squires VFD
Two Ozark Countians were among the 18 firefighters from six area fire departments in three counties who graduated July 24 from a six-month training academy that prepares them to become certified firefighters after they pass the state skills evaluation later this month and the written exam in September.
Pontiac / Price Place Volunteer Fire Department chief Khristie Sansone Jacquin and Tecumseh VFD firefighter Josh Sherman were honored with special awards during the graduation ceremony, which was held at the Squires VFD. Jacquin was presented with the “Spirit of Firefighting” award, and Sherman was recognized for “top skills performance.”
The training at Squires included online sessions plus hands-on classes every Tuesday and Thursday night from February through July and “lots and lots of Saturdays,” Jacquin told the Times. The academy required 300 hours of training. For Jacquin, who lives in Pontiac, it meant putting 3,300 miles on her personal vehicle as she drove to the classes in Squires and sometimes as far away as the Eastern Douglas VFD. But she’s quick to say, “It was worth every mile to help serve my community and county.”
Squires VFD hosted the training Firefighter I and II academy with funding from a grant that brought together fire personnel from Squires, Twin Bridges and Eastern Douglas VFDs in Douglas County, and Cedar Creek VFD in Taney County as well as Tecumseh and Pontiac / Price Place in Ozark County. Ava Rural and Goodhope VFDs served as backup for Squires while it was hosting the training sessions – and also while it hosted the graduation ceremony.
Squires VFD chief Travis Veldkamp led the effort to organize the academy, and instructors came from some of the participating departments as well as from Battlefield Fire Department near Springfield.
The July 24 graduation ceremony included remarks by lead instructor Shane Anderson, State Sen. Karla Eslinger of Wasola and Missouri State Fire Marshal Tim Bean. Springfield Fire Department Chief Scott Moore was the keynote speaker.
The firefighters were led into the ceremony setting by a bagpiper.