Fifteen area volunteer fire departments added 35 new firefighters to their ranks.

A recent ceremony at the Lower Macungie Township Community Center marked the completion of the six-month course taken by the new firefighters.

This was the third annual Bucks County Fire Academy course held every Sunday for the past six months at the Allentown Fire Academy, behind the Allentown Fire Department Mack Station at 1902 Lehigh St. near the Queen City Airport.

The volunteers began early in the year – even enduring a classroom training session on Super Bowl Sunday. But, the firefighters stuck it out, completing the rigorous 190-hour hands-on and classroom Firefighter l course.

Volunteers learned life-saving and first-aid skills and learned how to recognize, evaluate and deal with hazardous material incidents. The hazmat training covered events as small as an antifreeze spill at a motor-vehicle accident scene to incidents as intimidating as weapons of mass destruction.

The course also included building construction; basic interior firefighting skills; fire behavior; forcible entry; personal safety equipment; self-contained breathing apparatus; ropes and knots; search and rescue; vehicle fires; wildland fires; hazardous materials and structural live fire sessions.

Those who completed the course are entered into a national database and most states recognize the certification.