The Indianapolis Fire Departments 83rd recruit class took the oath to serve today – Monday February 12, 2018. Sworn in by IFD Chief Ernest V. Malone, 41 recruits in the class are headed for IFD. Additional recruits are joining the IFD Academy but are headed to different departments. 7 to Pike Township Fire, 2 to Beech Grove Fire and 1 to Lebanon Fire. Under the direction of Battalion Chief Eric Dreiman, Director of the IFD Training Academy, the recruits will be mentally and physically challenged over the course of 20 weeks with the anticipated date of graduation set for Thursday August 9, 2018. They will hit the streets as probationary firefighters on Friday August 10, 2018. Certifications will include Firefighter 1 & 2, Emergency Medical Technician, Hazardous Materials Awareness and Ops with basics training in disciplines such as Flashover, High and Low Angle Rope Rescue and Extrication. Each week of instruction will bring them closer to earning the IFD patches worn on their uniform and will culminate in the presentation of their badges at graduation.
While most of IFD Class #83 hails from Indiana…specifically the Indianapolis area, one recruit comes to the IFD family from Grove City, OH. Cities in Indiana represented are Indianapolis, Bloomington, Fishers, Greenwood, Avon, Danville, Martinsville, Muncie, Ingalls, Seymour, Plainfield, Ft. Wayne and Greenfield.
7 IFD recruits are legacies to the family tradition of firefighting. 9 served as a Firefighter/EMT with an area department. 4 were employed within public safety on Southport PD (Officer), MCSO (Deputy) and IEMS (Paramedic). Other former occupations include IRS Revenue Agent, Teacher, Media Production, Architect, Electrician, Personal Trainer, Supply Chain Mgr, Family Counselor, UPS & Coliseum Operations Supervisors, and Automotive Technician just to name a few. 35 of the recruits attended college with 19 of those attaining degrees. 6 did not attend college. 13 of the recruits served or still serve in the military, guard or reserves and the average age of the class is 30 years old.
The IFD recruits represent 39 men and 2 women out of 2099 applicants from the most recent IFD hiring process (2016) and is the second class off the list. The 83rd class make up is 31 White Males, 6 Black Males, 2 Hispanic Males and 2 White Females.
IFD Recruit Class #82, sworn in on November 17, 2017 is currently in its 14th week of recruit school. This is believed to be the first time in IFD history that two – 20 week long recruit schools were conducted simultaneously.
