15% Minorities, 1 Woman
175 Fire Probies Enter the Ranks

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Less than 24 hours after marking the loss of 343 Fire Department personnel on the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the FDNY welcomed 175 new members into its ranks at a graduation ceremony at Brooklyn College. Among the class of Probationary Firefighters were 12 who previously served in the U.S. military, four of whom were stationed in Iraq, and three young men who grew up together in firefighting families. Their fathers met while training at the Randalls Island Training Academy 27 years ago.

The Chief-leader/Adrienne Haywood James LEGACY CONTINUES: Retired Battalion Chief of Operations Philip Parr celebrates alongside his son Paul as the newly-minted Firefighter prepares to join the rank-and-file of the FDNY.

One Woman in Class

Also in the class was a lone female graduate, Jackie-Michelle Martinez, who was greeted with thunderous applause as she crossed the stage to receive her diploma.

Although the FDNY has made a concerted effort in recent years to increase the number of minorities who join the department - including a recent change in hiring criteria that sharply reduced the number of college credits needed to get on the job - women still comprise less than 1 percent of the firefighting ranks. Fifteen percent of this class was made up of minority graduates.

Mayor Bloomberg in his opening speech acknowledged the "vivid memories" that remained fresh for many the day after the 9/11 anniversary.

But he reminded the Probationary Firefighters that "the members of the FDNY inspired the world with their bravery. Although 343 of them made the supreme sacrifice, they helped save thousands of lives."

Recent Sacrifices

He also noted that "since 9/11, other heroes have given their lives for the rest of us, including Lieut. [Howard] Carpluk and Firefighter [Michael] Reilly just weeks ago."

More than $3,000 was raised by the probationary class for the families of Lieutenant Carpluk and Firefighter Reilly. The two men died in an Aug. 27 blaze after a collapsing floor sent them crashing into a basement under mounds of debris. Fire fighter Reilly had been on the job just six weeks.

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told the graduates that the department was "already quietly proud of you" for reaching out to the families of Lieutenant Carpluk and Firefighter Reilly.

"You have already learned that your greatest strength on this job is each other," he commented.

New Safety Gear

Mayor Bloomberg also announced at the ceremony that the department is investing in several new pieces of equipment to further ensure firefighter safety.

Thanks to $32 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the FDNY is going to buy re-breathers (special respirators that allow first responders more time to work in smoky subway tunnels and other contaminated spaces), improve operations for Incident Management teams that are specially trained to manage large-scale disasters, and implement technology that allows the FDNY to monitor and record fire and Emergency Medical Service units arriving at emergencies.

This class had two valedictorians: Firefighter Salvatore Scafuri and Firefighter John Norman, son of FDNY Chief of Special Operations John Norman, who will be retiring in October.

Passing the Hose

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James ALL IN THE FAMILY: The entry of Probationary Firefighter John Norman (upper left) into the Fire Department Sept. 12 was celebrated by (to his left) his grandmother, Lillian Norman; Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta; Police Officer Warren Norman; Emergency Medical Technician Ryan Norman;, grandfather, John Norman (bottom center); his mother; and his father, FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief John Norman, who will retire next month.

Chief Norman was part of the 1979 probie class that also contained firefighters Joe D'Amico and Philip Parr. All three were on hand to watch their sons graduate.

The class salutatorian was Paul Hoekzema and the Physical Fitness Award went to Raymond Cuadrado.

Other graduates were:

Michael Anderson, Paul Andrews, Kenneth Annarummo, Sammy Armas, Vincent Atkinson Jr., Peter Benedict, Rocco Berardi, Christopher Bergen, Thomas Bertolini, Andrew Bowman, Kevin Brennan, Richard Brennan, Brian Bresnick, Thomas Brogan, David Brown, Francesco Buccinna, Kevin Calhoun Jr., Dwight Capasso, William Carrington, Christopher Cimorelli, Giuseppe Cipolla, Michael Clement, Paul Cockerill;

Timothy Coffey Jr., Joseph Columbia, Damian Como, William Connell, Sean Connolly, Christopher Cresci, Joseph Cruz, George Cucu, Michael Daly, Anthony D'Amico, Anthony Dandrea, Steven Daniel, Scott Davis, Kyle DeMasters, Michael DeMeo, Christopher DiGiulio, Brian Dillon, David Disla, Paul Dobson, Sean Doyle, Matthew Dugan, Yancy Duran;

Armando Ellis, John Fagan, Sharif Farrow, Nicholas Feeley, James Feigenbutz, Darren Fenton, Michael Fiore, Christopher Frazzetta, Christopher Fulton, John Gaffney, Edwin Garcia, Michael Gardella III, Kevin Garvey, Edward Gaynor, Anthony Gaynor, James Gedris, Evan George, Donald Gleason, James Goelz, Aaron Goldstein, Kevin Goodwin, Adam Grillo, Robert Grippo;

Christopher Gross, Joseph Guarneri, Thomas Hackett, Scott Hamelburg, Michael Hammel, Darren Harsch, Christopher Hillebrand, Felipe Irizarry, Aristeo Kardi, Conor Kelly, Michael King, Michael Knipfing, Keith Larsen, Craig Leahy, Jonathan Leisch, James Levine, Christopher Lind, Steven Lucchese, Michael Lynam, Robert Lynch, Adam Lynch, Robert Macchia Jr.;

Brian Malone, Jeffrey Mando, Joseph Marsh, John Marsh, Joseph Maurus Jr., John-Paul McCloskey, Jerard McCrain, Adam McEntee, Timothy McGuire, James McHale, Daniel McKenna, Michael McNally, Michael McPartland, John Meaney, Richard Mekeel, Leonard Mendez, Leybi Mercado, Timothy Miles, Adam Milewski, Michael Miller, Michael Miller, James Murphy;

Joseph Murphy, Michael Nazionale, Luke Newbold, Keith Newell, Kevin Newman, Tony Ng, Robert Nicoletti, Joseph Norris, Michael Nugent, Kenneth O'Brien, Brian Olsen, David Olsen, Joseph O'Rourke, Daniel O'Shea, Jonathon Papadimitrios, Paul Parr, Craig Paxton, Jorge Paz, Jordan Pergola, Frank Piccolo, Michael Pisciotta, Nicholas Polovoy;

Anthony Quaglietta, Brendan Quinn, Raul Ramirez, Michael Regan, Devin Reilly, James Riley IV, Rolando Romero, Thomas Rubino, Francisco Ruiz, Jason Russo, Christopher Sacco, Michael Santana, Thomas Schaffer, Robert Scheer, Christopher Schemitsch, Christopher Schubert, Joseph Schutta, Christopher Shaw, Robert Sheerin, Sky Shepard, Thomas Sileo, Scott Specht;

Bryan Steinmuller, Martin Stiebel, Edward Stokes, Robert Tafflock, Stephen Tanzosh, Stephen Tommony Jr., John Tucker, Gino Vaccaro, William Vecere, Jeffrey Viola, Jason Warnken, Anthony Wilcox, Robert Wilson, Ryan Wilson, Victor Yiu and Andre Zulkifli.