The Nampa-Caldwell Joint Fire Academy graduated 16 new firefighters Saturday, split evenly between the Caldwell Fire Department (CFD) and the Nampa Fire Department.
The eight new firefighters at CFD will start their first shift on March 27 and respond to emergency calls. Friends and family packed the Nampa Fire Training Center to celebrate the new graduates with an official badge pinning ceremony.
"We were all pretty much the same team," Class valedictorian Theo Rich said. "It'll be weird to split ways and go to different departments, but we're all working together when we go on mutual aid calls."
The joint academy is a new strategy to streamline training, costs and communication between both departments, according to Caldwell Fire Chief Richard Frawley. As both cities continue to grow, calls can overlap where both departments must work together in response.