Find a FDNY Block Party Near You
July 15, 2016
Save the Date! FDNY All-Star Breakfast
August 17, 2016
FDNY Foundation-Funded FDNY High School Graduates Join FDNY as EMTs
The FDNY Foundation congratulates the 178 new members of the FDNY, who celebrated their graduation as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) on Wed., July 20.
Speaking at the graduation, Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the new graduates will play a critical role in the Department’s life-saving mission.
“I cannot imagine where FDNY would be without our outstanding Paramedics and EMTs,” said Commissioner Nigro. “The merger twenty years ago raised the bar for what we do as an agency and helped our Department set the standard for emergency pre-hospital care throughout the country, and around the world.”
This year, the Department marked the 20th anniversary of the merger between New York City’s Emergency Medical Service and the FDNY.
13 of the new EMTs were graduates of the Captain Vernon Richard FDNY High School for Fire and Life Safety, which is primarily funded by the FDNY Foundation.
“It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in high school telling people that I wanted to work here as an EMT and now that’s my reality,” said EMT Pancho Bajana, who was the valedictorian of the 2013 FDNY High School class. “Helping others for a living by working here is a dream come true for me.”
All of the graduates have completed rigorous training programs at the FDNY EMS Academy. The new EMTs spent more than 10 weeks learning FDNY operations and procedures, while the Paramedics spent nine months learning all aspects of their new role as Advanced Life Support providers, the highest level of pre-hospital care.
The Captain Vernon Richard FDNY High School for Fire and Life Safety is just one of the programs funded by the FDNY Foundation which allow the FDNY to reach out to neighborhoods in every borough and to encourage young men and women to prepare for careers in the Department.
The FDNY Explorers Program, supported financially by the Foundation, has increased the visibility of the Department among young New Yorkers and has been a critical part of its awareness and outreach strategic plans.
Click here to learn more about how the FDNY Foundation supports the Department’s core outreach programs.
Click here to see more photos from graduation.
"It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in high school telling people that I wanted to work here as an EMT and now that’s my reality. Helping others for a living by working here is a dream come true for me."
