Sandoval County fire academy graduates largest class of 13 firefighters

Fire Chief Chris Bagley helped welcome 13 new firefighters into Sandoval County Fire & Rescue on Friday as Academy Class 8 completed a 14-week training program and became the largest class in the program’s history. The graduation at the V. Sue Cleveland High School Concert Hall in Rio Rancho marked a direct boost to county response capacity, with the new firefighters set to staff stations across Sandoval County, including the new Cuba Fire Station now under construction.

More than 300 family members, friends, firefighters, and county leaders filled the concert hall for the ceremony, which included the traditional pinning ritual that marks a firefighter’s formal entry into the profession. Alongside Bagley were Battalion Chief and Training Officer Lauren Zabicki, New Mexico Emergency Medical Services Bureau Chief Kyle Thornton, County Commission Chair Jordan Juarez, Vice Chair Joshua A. Jones, District 2 Commissioner Jon Herr, District 4 Commissioner Kia Bridges, class speaker Kenneth Toled-Tsoi and valedictorian Caitlin Holloway.

The class carried a motto that captured the intensity of the academy and the bond built during it: “Through fire and pain the 8 will remain.” County officials said the graduates finished the 14-week program as a single class of 13, a milestone for Sandoval County Fire and Rescue Academy and a sign that the department is expanding its workforce at a time when residents depend on faster fire and emergency medical response across a growing county.

The graduates are joining a department that does more than suppress fires. Sandoval County Fire & Rescue also provides emergency medical services, manages burn restrictions and burning permits, handles emergency management services and participates in the Rio Grande Basin Heavy Technical Rescue Team. That mix of duties makes new staffing especially significant for communities from Rio Rancho to Cuba, where the county has relied on fire and rescue crews for both everyday emergencies and large-scale incidents.

For Sandoval County, the class represents more than a ceremony. It adds trained personnel to stations already serving local families and helps prepare the county for the opening of the new Cuba Fire Station, where these firefighters are expected to be deployed as construction advances.