Donegal man among Newtownabbey Wholetime Firefighters graduates

A Donegal man was part of a major milestone for Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) as 41 new wholetime firefighters graduated from its new Learning and Development College.

Carrigart’s Daniel Abbott graduated from NIFRS, alongside fellow full-time firefighters Lauren Curran, Daniel Doherty, Ciara McGurk and Ciaran O’Hara from Derry, Daniel Abbott and Colette Quinn from Magherafelt.

The cohort of trainees comprised of 10 female firefighters and 31 male firefighters and were the first group to complete all 19 weeks of intensive training at the college, which was officially opened in May. They will now begin their careers as Wholetime Firefighters in Fire Stations across Northern Ireland.

READ NEXT: Government failures saddling ordinary people with rip-off energy bills - Doherty

The graduation ceremony was held at the new college, a purpose-built training facility designed to equip the next generation of Firefighters with the skills and knowledge they need to keep everyone in Northern Ireland safe.

NIFRS Chief Fire & Rescue Officer, Aidan Jennings, said: “This is a hugely important day for our 41 trainees as they graduate as Wholetime Firefighters. This cohort of Firefighters made history for NIFRS as being the first Firefighters to complete all of their intensive training at our new college. Our graduates should be extremely proud of themselves.

“Our new college brings a new level of intensity to our training, and these graduates performed exceptionally well throughout the duration of the trainee Firefighting course. I would also like to recognise the dedication and commitment of our instructors, who were also new to the site and who were able to deliver this course to our new trainees.

“Our graduates are now ready to take their places as Wholetime Firefighters across Northern Ireland. They have chosen to become Firefighters because they believe in serving our community and working with others to make Northern Ireland a safer place. I wish them every success in what is a rewarding, interesting and meaningful career.”