18 new Hawaii County firefighters graduate in Hilo ceremony

Eighteen recruits received their badges in Hilo as the Hawaii Fire Department’s 54th Firefighter Recruit Class graduated and moved from training into service. County leaders, family, friends and fire service personnel attended the ceremony.

Mayor Kimo Alameda shook the recruits’ hands a year earlier at Haihai Fire Station when they began training. He called the recent Waikoloa brush fire response a “text-book perfect response,” crediting the department’s Training Division for the way crews handled the incident.

Temporary Fire Chief Daniel Volpe told the class the badge carries a duty, not a prize. “The badge you receive today is not a reward or a trophy. It is a symbol of the purpose carried by generations of Hawaii firefighters that is now entrusted to you. Every time you put that badge on your uniform, let it remind you of your purpose and the promise you made: to save life and property, safeguard our community, and serve the public with aloha,” Volpe said. He tied those remarks to words the late Fire Chief Kazuo Todd had shared with the class before recruit training began.

Chief Martinez Jacobs of Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting also praised Battalion Chief Patrick Springer and the training staff. Committee of Accreditation Chairman Brian Bower said Springer and his team were among the best he had seen in his career.

County fire crews cover a wide range of calls, from structure fires and wildland fires to rescues, emergency medical responses, hazardous conditions and storm-related incidents. On Hawaii Island, that means one department must be ready for calls in Hilo, Puna, Kaū, Waimea and Kona, often over long distances and in difficult terrain.

The 54th class followed the department’s 53rd Recruit Class graduation in 2025. The county has also continued recruiting for island-wide firefighter recruit positions listed as temporary vacancies only.