Three firefighter/emergency medical technicians and one new firefighter/paramedic, all veteran firefighters, were sworn in last week to their new positions with the Piedmont Fire Department.
At the Dec. 3 Piedmont City Council meeting, City Clerk Anna Brown swore in firefighter/paramedic Christopher Kruger and firefighter/EMTs Brittany Borges, Brandon Clupny and Kevin Sauder.
Firefighter/paramedics and firefighter/EMTs are both emergency medical responders, but paramedics go through a higher level of education and training than do EMTs.
Fire Chief David Brannigan told the council that Borges comes to Piedmont from the Humboldt Bay Fire Department based in Eureka. Klupfy had previously worked for the Northshore Fire Protection District in Clearlake, Sauder with the Cloverdale Fire Department, and Kruger with the Lake County Fire Department.
During the Dec. 3 ceremony, all four new firefighters were also “pinned” either by family members or by department training Capt. Justin McNulty.
Brannigan said all four will be made familiar with the Piedmont department’s procedures, adding that the “No. 1 rule is, ‘When it’s their turn to cook, they make a lot and they make it hot.”
The chief also said that three more recruits are starting firefighter training shortly, and are expected to join the department some time in 2024.