RI Fire Training Academy ribbon-cutting and inaugural graduation

EXETER, RI — The Rhode Island Fire Training Academy will hold a dual ceremony this
Friday, May 26, 2017, at 1 p.m. to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the new academy
building and the inaugural graduation of the first statewide training program for
firefighters.
More than 250 people are expected to attend, including Senators Jack Reed and
Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen James Langevin and David Cicilline, along with
state and local officials and fire chiefs from throughout the region.
Members of the media are invited to attend.
The ribbon-cutting celebrates completion of the state’s Fire Training Academy, a
$9.6 million project that included the $6.4 million construction of a live burn
building and training area that opened in 2011 and a new $3.2 million,
8,100-square-foot building with two classrooms and administrative offices that
opened earlier this year.
The graduation ceremony honors recruits from four communities who participated in
the first-ever Municipal Fire Academy, a nine-week training and certification
program available for firefighters from across the state. Fourteen recruits – three
from Central Falls, one from Jamestown, two from West Warwick and eight from
Woonsocket – will receive their Firefighter Level I and II certificates.
The event will include a display of fire equipment and trucks, including antique
fire engines being brought in for this very special event.