West Plains academy graduates 19 recruits

The West Plains Recruit Structural Academy graduated 19 recruits from its recent class, along with six crew leaders, during a Dec. 22 ceremony at Medical Lake High School's auditorium.

The academy consists of firefighter recruits from Airway Heights and Medical Lake fire departments and Spokane County Fire District 10. It requires a large time commitment by the new recruits as they spend about four and a half months and over 200 hours of hands-on training.

During the academy, the recruits are taught the basic skills of firefighting, which include health and safety, fire behavior, building cons...