Five firefighter apprentices in Juneau received their pins on Saturday, meaning they formally joined the force. The five new recruits are officially EMTs and are welcomed by an understaffed department.

Capital City Fire Rescue Chief Rich Etheridge led the ceremony at the Douglas Public Library, next door to the fire station.

“This is the future of the fire service,” he said. “These are the folks that are going to replace the ones that have been here for a while. ”

This program is the first of its kind in Juneau. Etheridge said the 10-month training has two necessary credentials built into it, so the department can recruit people before they are certified.

“We decided that we’ll bring them on,” he said. “We’ll give them all that training. So we look for people with the interpers

See Full Page