37 New Firefighters Graduate From Westchester County Career Chiefs Fire Academy

VALHALLA, NY —Thirty-seven recruits from nine Westchester County fire departments as well as one each from Dutchess County and Nassau County graduated Friday night from the Westchester County Career Chiefs Fire Academy.

The new firefighters were awarded their certificates during a graduation ceremony held at the Department of Emergency Services. This was the first traditional graduation ceremony since the COVID-19 crisis was declared in March 2020.

County Executive George Latimer addressed the graduates and noted, “What you have is more than a career, it’s a calling.”

“Something has to be special inside of you to agree to do this,” Latimer said.

He told the graduates that they were part of a family. They reminded him of his late father-in-law, who had been a career firefighter.

The graduates all successfully passed the National Certification Exams for Firefighter I, Firefighter II, and Hazardous Materials First Responder Operations. They also all successfully completed the required Candidate Physical Agility Test.

“We wish you the very best,” Latimer said.

NRFD Lieutenant Carmine Mancuso of the Academy Command Staff presented the newly created Captain Andrew DiMaggio Skills Proficiency Achievement Award to Thomas Higgins of the New Rochelle Fire Department,

Chief Andrew Sandor of the New Rochelle Fire Department — with 14 probationary firefighters at the ceremony — addressed the graduates and congratulated them.

Sandor recalled the memory of Captain Andrew DiMaggio, who worked for many years at the Westchester Career Chiefs Fire Academy before succumbing to COVID-19 in 2020.

“You gotta ask yourself — all you guys and girls — are you clean and ready today?”

“You want to come to work, you want to be clean and ready,” Sandor said. “The bell might hit now, five minutes from now, five hours, five days, five weeks from now, are you gonna be ready? Physically, mentally, and spiritually?

“You can get a lot done if you check yourself, and you don’t care who gets the credit. Be prepared. Be ready.

Class President Joseph Tolve of the Rye Fire Department addressed his classmates and instructors

Richard G. Wishnie, acting commissioner at DES, thanked DES staff and the instructors from numerous fire departments who trained the new firefighters during the 17-week Fire Academy program.

“The fire service and the staff here at DES are committed to providing the most rigorous training possible to prepare firefighters for the job that is ahead. We know these probationary firefighters are prepared to meet the challenges that come with being a firefighter today,” Wishnie said.

The graduates and their departments are:

Arlington Fire Department

William Roser

Manuel Villa-Orti

Greenville Fire Department

Justin Giudice

Harrison Fire Department

Vincent LaRusso

Lake Mohegan Fire Department

Thomas Dee

Daniel Ferreira

Larchmont Fire Department

James Shanahan

Long Beach Fire Department

Patrick Cunningham

Catherine Lewis

Tyler Rutter

Mount Vernon Fire Department

Lamont Albert Jr.

Jomo Belfor

Gregory Harris Jr.

Shanty R. Robinson

Svelty Francisco

New Rochelle Fire Department

Lamou Barthelemi

Stephen Ceneus

William Edler

Thomas Higgins

Sonel Normil

Christopher Madden

John Musacchio

Jordan Pacheco

Markus Perez

Raymond Ramos

Andrew Purvis

Anthony Spadaro

Kevin Spillane

Daniel Vallario

Rye Fire Department

Salvatore Inguanti

Kevin Ramsey

Joseph Tolve

Scarsdale Fire Department

Richard Blackley

Derek Grisanti

White Plains Fire Department

William J. Murphy

Eric Schwartz

Andre Young

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The Westchester County Career Chiefs Association runs and administers the Westchester County Career Chiefs Fire Academy. It is held at the Westchester County fire training center in Valhalla and is hosted by and supported by the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services.

The academy program, scheduled twice annually, in the spring and fall, is a basic firefighter training program designed to provide the firefighter with the essential knowledge and basic skills necessary to perform their job safely, effectively, efficiently, and as part of a firefighting team. This 17-week intensive training program provides instruction in a classroom setting and practical skills training. This training prepares the firefighter to save the life of a fire victim, a fellow firefighter, or themselves. Upon completion of the course, the trainee is able to efficiently mitigate any emergency.

The Commanding Officer is Deputy Chief Thomas Duffy, Mount Vernon FD. Executive Officers are Captain Edward Ladin, Greenville FD and Captain Gene Malone IV, Fairview FD.

The Command Staff is Captain Rob Ciotti, New Rochelle FD, Captain Joseph Sinatra, New Rochelle FD, Lieutenant Robert Jackson, New Rochelle FD, and Lieutenant Carmine Mancuso, New Rochelle FD.