City of Burlington welcomes 11 new firefighter recruits

*Please see below a news release issued by the City of Burlington. The City of Burlington’s Fire Department held its firefighter recruitment graduation ceremony Aug. 17, 2022 to welcome 11 new Firefighters to our city. Each recruit class is named for a fallen Burlington firefighter. This year’s class is proudly named the Tim Catterall Recruit Class of 2022.The new firefighters will be placed at various fire stations across Burlington.The City of Burlington’s Firefighters are some of the best trained and highly qualified firefighter emergency response personnel in the Province of Ontario. In Burlington, our recruit firefighters receive an intense 15-week onsite training in areas that go beyond firefighting; such as, medical aid, rope rescue, water rescue and hazardous materials response and more. Career firefighters also provide public community education and community support activities.New firefighter recruitsStuart BuchananCaleb CoozePeter DionisioAlex GuptilMatt ManningMatthew MoffatVictor PalettaTom PolizianiDan PrinsenLexis RossZachary TaitTim Catterall Recruit Class of 2022This year’s class is proudly named the Tim Catterall Recruit Class of 2022 after a fallen Burlington firefighter.Tim Catterall proudly served the citizens of Burlington for 29 years. He was a caring and capable firefighter that gave his all on every call, and ultimately gave everything he had to the Citizens of Burlington until his passing in 2018 with his recruitment classmates at his bedside. The presence of his fellow firefighters at his bedside exemplifies the tight bond that he developed with all he worked with and the bond that all firefighters share.Tim’s compassion for his fellow firefighters, and fellow human beings shined through by his creation of the FACE (Firefighters Against Cancer’s Existence) foundation which raised thousands of dollars for the fight against cancer, as well as raising awareness and support for firefighters suffering this disease.Tim would have been immensely proud to know that a class of Firefighters was named after him.

“Our graduation event is always a great source of pride for everyone in the Fire Department. The new recruits have put in a lot of hard work to graduate and become full time firefighters, to serve the Burlington community and keep everyone safe. On behalf of everyone within the Burlington Fire Department, I welcome them to the family and am looking forward to working with them.” - Karen Roche, Burlington Fire Chief

MY TAKE: Congratulations to 11 men and women who have graduated from training and have joined the Burlington Fire Department. We are served by the brightest and best! Thank you for your courage to walk into danger to keep us safe. Knowing you are there helps us all sleep soundly at night.For more information about the Burlington Fire Department, visit burlington.ca/firePhotoBack row from left to right: Victor Paletta, Dan Prinsen, Tom Poliziani, Peter Dionisio, Alex Guptill, Caleb Cooze, Mike MoffatFront row from left to right: Stuart Buchanan, Matthew Manning, Lexis Ross, Zachary Tait