Four Shelbyville firefighters graduate

Shelbyville firefighters (in blue, from left) Kenneth Holley, Zachary Warren, Brandon McCullough and Craig Scott were among 23 graduates of the Recruit / Firefighter I program. (T-G Photo by John Carney) [Order this photo]

Friday's graduation ceremonies at the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy had several Shelbyville connections. Not only did four Shelbyville Fire Department firefighters graduate from the 10-week Recruit/Firefighter I program, but the ceremony was opened with presentation of colors by a SFD color guard, and Shelbyville & Bedford County Chamber of Commerce presented the fire academy's first ever "challenge coins" to the entire graduating class.

The academy, operated by Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, is located on Unionville-Deason Road.

Shelbyville firefighters Kenneth Holley, Brandon McCullough, Craig Scott and Zachary Warren were among the 23 members of the graduating class. Mayor Wallace Cartwright and Fire Chief John Habel were in the audience to support the new graduates.

As Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy graduates stand at attention, a Shelbyville Fire Department color guard presents the colors to open Friday's ceremony. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Order this photo]

Jim Pillow, assistant commissioner of the Department of Commerce and Insurance addressed the graduates, and the keynote speaker was Ray Crouch Sr., a fire management consultant with the University of Tennessee's Municipal Technical Advisory Service. Scott Mize of the McMinnville Fire Department was selected by his classmates to speak on behalf of the graduates.

Pillow assured the firefighters that the Department of Commerce and Insurance, which includes the state fire marshal's office, would be there to support them in their duties. He also challenged them to be professional, noting a time in his own career when he let personality trump professionalism during a dispute with an architect over a building codes issue.

Crouch called firefighters "the heart and soul of a community" and praised the class for their achievements. He noted that, even as the ceremony was taking place, there were likely firefighters somewhere in the U.S. putting their lives on the line, crawling through smoke and avoiding flames to save lives and property.

Mize thanked the graduates' families for their support during the 10-week training class.

Roger Hawks, director of the fire academy, noted that attendees drove past the construction site for the Tennessee Fallen Firefighter Memorial, on the academy grounds near the entrance. He said $250,000 has been raised toward construction of the memorial.

Chamber of Commerce CEO Walt Wood said that the idea of presenting military-style "challenge coins" came from a conversation he had with Hawks. The coins, decorated with the academy's seal and colors, were presented to each graduate, and were also presented to State Sen. Jim Tracy and State Rep. Curt Cobb in recognition of their support for the school.

Wood said the tradition of the coins in some military settings is that if two people who have been given the coins meet, and one of them is not in possession of the coin, the other person can challenge that person to perform some task as punishment.

The ceremony opened with a video and slide presentation of the recruits' activities during the course, including dramatic footage of live fire training.