Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury residents and firefighters Sean McNiff and Thomas Schofield graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in a ceremony Feb. 7 at the Department of Fire Services in Stow.
According to Fire Chief James Vuona, Shrewsbury's newest firefighters McNiff and Schofield were hired as replacements for Firefighter Walter Wagner and Captain William Cummins. Both men have worked several years in Shrewsbury as Call Firefighters. McNiff graduated from Assabet Valley Technical High School in 2007 and is a licensed tradesman. Schofield is a 2008 graduate of Bentley College and is an Emergency Medical Technician.
The 23 graduates of the Career Firefighter Recruit Class #207, two women and 21 men, represent the 15 fire departments of East Bridgewater, Everett, Falmouth, Gloucester, Ipswich, Marshfield, Melrose, Nantucket, Natick, North Andover, Northampton, Saugus, Shrewsbury, Taunton, and Wayland. The guest speaker was state Sen. Kenneth Donnelly (4th Middlesex District), who is a retired firefighter.
The intensive, nine-week program for municipal firefighters involves classroom instruction,
physical fitness training, firefighter skills training, and live firefighting practice.
