Goshen, N.Y. – Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus attended the County’s Firefighter 1 graduation ceremony on Thursday night at the County’s Emergency Services Center in Goshen.
Neuhaus was joined at the graduation by Orange County Sheriff Carl E. DuBois, Assistant District Attorney Chris Borek, Commissioner of Emergency Services Brendan Casey, Deputy Commissioner of Fire Services Vini Tankasali and Orange County Fire Training Chief Jim McCann.
“It was an honor to recognize and congratulate these brave men and women,” said Neuhaus, a past graduate of the County’s Fire Training Program. “We are proud of this year’s Firefighter 1 class and the commitment they have made to their communities. I commend the graduates, along with the training instructors, participating fire departments, and their friends and families on being a part of this impressive achievement.”
This year’s Firefighter 1 graduating class included of 39 men and women from the following County Fire Departments: Bullville, Chester, Circleville, Coldenham, Cornwall-on-Hudson, Cronomer Valley, Fort Montgomery, Goodwill, Goshen, Greenville, Highland Falls, Johnson, Middletown, Monroe, Montgomery, Orange Lake, Port Jervis, Salisbury Mills, Slate Hill, Vails Gate, Warwick and Woodbury. Firefighter 1 is a comprehensive and intensive introductory course required to become an Interior Firefighter.
The course is comprised of 129 classroom hours and additional take home assignments. Courses were taught by Orange County Fire Instructors at the County’s Fire Training Center in New Hampton and also entailed lectures and hands on training sessions.

“We are proud of this year’s Firefighter 1 class and the commitment they have made to their communities,” Tankasali said. “It takes much dedication and effort to become a firefighter and the completion of this course illustrates the commitment and selfless dedication of each of the graduates to their communities throughout the County. I offer my congratulations and best wishes as well as gratitude to them all.”
For more information, contact Justin Rodriguez, Assistant to the County Executive for Communications and Media Relations at 845.291.3255 or jrodriguez@orangecountygov.com.
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Orange County Firefighter 1 Graduates
(July, 2018)
Jon-Paul Brancato, Goshen
David Burtchaell, Cronomer Valley
James Calaca, Bullville
Louie Carlo, Goodwill
Eric Cheesman, Orange Lake
Paul Collins Jr., Chester
Austin Courtney, Warwick
James Fuller Jr., Port Jervis
Peter Gemmati, Monroe
Christine Gray, Montgomery
Frank Hauber, Greenville
Tyler Hennessey, Woodbury
Arla James, Highland Falls
Stephen Lear Jr., Greenville
Kyle Lewis, Middletown
Brian Lichtenhahn, Warwick
Adam Lynch, Orange Lake
Hunter Madison, Johnson
Derrick Maher, Fort Montgomery
Alec Manna, Goshen
Caitlin McGilley, Cornwall-on-Hudson
Megan Metzger, Port Jervis
Justin Mitts, Slate Hill
Daniel Nowicki, Montgomery
Michael Ortiz, Slate Hill
Levi Peres, Fort Montgomery
Ivan Pierre, Woodbury
Edward Poppiti, Vails Gate
Nicholas Russo, Vails Gate
Noah Schneider, Cronomer Valley
Nicholas Seymour, Salisbury Mills
Scott Speckman, Goshen
Denise Stinson, Orange Lake
Nicole Theiss, Woodbury
Thomas Trainor, Cornwall-on-Hudson
Michael Walrad, Vails Gate
Conner Watson, Circleville
Randy Wilson Jr., Cronomer Valley
Michael Wirth, Coldenham