Twenty-eight firefighters graduated from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Friday morning. The ceremony was held at Teamster Temple in Lawrenceville. Family and friends crowded in the hall to celebrate the graduates' completion of 32 weeks of intense training.
The group is the first to graduate since city residency requirements were lifted for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Firefighters last week. The ruling came four years after the police residency requirements were lifted.
Donald Knight, a 30-year-old graduate from St. Clair Village, said he’s excited by the possibilities of the ruling.
“Now when I go to buy a house, I can look outside the city and not have to worry about living on a little street and not having enough yard for my kids to play,” Knight said.
Lt. Steve Swierczek said he thinks the change may increase the number of applicants to the academy. “Over the past several years, we saw our applicant pool decline and for our prospective candidates, so they had to make some changes to meet the changing needs.”
Graduate Michael Welch, 24, of Brookline, said his grandfather inspired him to join the bureau.
“My youngest memories were being up at ‘26,’ which is Brookline firehouse, and being around him and hearing all the stories,” Welch said. “So I kind of grew up with it, so I wanted to be one since I can remember.”
