Three New Beverly Firefighters Graduate Academy

Three Beverly Fire Department firefighters graduated Friday from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.

The Beverly graduates were Andrew J. Bencal, Brian C. Pierce and James R. Ready.

Graduation for the 214th class marked the end of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s 45-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training Program.

 “This rigorous professional training provides our newest firefighters with the basic skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely,” said Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Assistant Director Joseph Klucznik.

The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers the program, tuition-free, to the city. The ceremony took place at the Department of Fire Services in Stow.

The 22 graduates, 21 men and one woman, represent the 11 fire departments. In addition to Beverly, graduates were from East Longmeadow, Fitchburg, Framingham, Hingham, Lynn, Northborough, Randolph, Tewksbury, Westminster, and Westwood.

The guest speaker at the graduation was Tewksbury Fire Chief Michael Hazel who spoke about responding to the state’s first “hash oil” production fire last March. The improper use of flammable liquids caused an explosion and resulting fire. There were three serious burn injuries and multiple rescues. He spoke about how important it was to have the ability to rely on neighboring communities to respond with similarly trained and equipped firefighters.