Rio Rancho Fire & Rescue Academy 22 Graduates After Rigorous 20-Week Training

Sixteen cadets who ran into burning buildings and trained in full bunker gear under the New Mexico sun crossed the final threshold of Rio Rancho Fire & Rescue's Academy 22 on Friday, March 6, receiving their department badges at a pinning ceremony held at the Church of Vision Event Center.

Chief James Wenzel, who took over as fire chief last summer, addressed the graduating class with a pointed reminder about what the milestone actually represents. Their 20-week academy, he told them, "is by no means the end of something" — "it is the beginning of everything."

Among those receiving a badge was Hayden Fox, whose father Ian Fox did the pinning. When Ian fastened the Rio Rancho Fire & Rescue Department badge to his son's uniform, Hayden looked directly into his eyes and said, "I did it." Reflecting on the moment afterward, Fox said, "Knowing that it was such a proud moment, all the hard work I've put in — truly amazing." He is already looking ahead to a full career with the department, and expressed little anxiety about the long road ahead. "It will go by fast," he said of the required 25 years of service.

The graduation ceremony, which included formal remarks and the badge pinning presentation, marked the culmination of a program that pushed cadets through realistic fire conditions and sustained physical demands over five months of training.

Rio Rancho Fire & Rescue's official communications stated that 15 cadets from the class have earned the opportunity to join the department as probationary firefighters, a figure that differs by one from the 16 cadets identified as graduates in ceremony coverage. The department has not publicly explained the discrepancy.

For those moving forward as probationary firefighters, the training pipeline continues immediately. According to the department, the new hires will work toward obtaining their EMT-Basic license and advance through the department's Field Training Officer program before assuming full duties.