Four new firefighters were added to the Woodlawn Fire Department roster Nov. 18 after completing a rigorous five-month training course and receiving a certificate of completion during a ceremony at the Fullerton Fire Company.

The firefighters included Jason Fetterhoff Sr., Jason Fetterhoff Jr., Courtney McManigle and Alexandra Savkova.

Five other area volunteer fire departments added 13 new firefighters to their ranks, when the firefighters completed the rigorous five-month course.

The 194-hour Bucks County Fire Academy course was sponsored by Whitehall Fire Department Chief David Nelson.

The Public Safety Training unit at the Bucks County Community College provides training for first responder units in 11 counties in southeastern Pennsylvania with national and state level fire, rescue, emergency medical, and hazardous materials training and professional certification.

Certification is portable and recognized by fire departments across the country.

Firefighting skills training 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; and hazardous materials.

Among training modules, in addition to the 112 hours in basic firefighting, the volunteers learned lifesaving and first-aid skills, and learned how to recognize, evaluate and deal with hazardous material incidents.

Hazardous materials training covered events as small as an antifreeze spill at a motor-vehicle accident scene, to incidents as intimidating as weapons of mass destruction.

Lead instructor for the training was Lt. Christopher Groller of the Allentown Fire Department.

He was assisted by several other state-certified trainers.