17 new firefighters join Lawton department’s ranks

As 17 new graduates of the Lawton Fire Academy prepared to take to the professional ranks Friday, their brothers in bunker gear were tackling a graduation ceremony tradition.

A 2:45 p.m. call to a potential house fire in the 100 block of Northeast Bell Avenue sent ladder trucks flying from Lawton City Hall to the nearby neighborhood. A small fire in a home’s insulation was quickly extinguished. Within 15 minutes, most of them had returned to the Banquet Hall to congratulate this fresh class and welcome them aboard.

It was an experience they’ll most likely be on the other side of come next graduation, according to Lawton Fire Chief Jared Williams.

“In the firefighter tradition, we can’t start this out without a structure fire,” he said. 

With his background as a long-time Lawton Fire Training Officer, Williams said this crop of new firefighters earned their badges through 180 days of intensive training. It’s paying off as they’ve grown over that time from green cadets to green helmeted members of the department “now working and serving our community.”

A slideshow of the young firefighters’ training showed grueling moments mixed with memories that bond this class. As they don their bunker gear and join those already serving, they will find this bond further deepened with a bigger first responder family.

With Mayor Stan Booker unavailable to attend the graduation ceremony, City Manager John Ratliff spoke of the sanctity of the firefighting profession. He spoke of the two most impactful moments that featured firefighters in his lifetime: the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, and the Sept. 11, 2001, twin towers attack of the World Trade Center and the attempted destruction of the Pentagon. 

Noting the sacrifices made by firefighters on 9/11, 343 died while working to save people by rushing toward danger. It’s that kind of bravery that is part of the calling, Ratliff said.

“In our darkest time, firefighters give us hope,” he said. “Deeds above words.”