By Alexia Partouche
The Roanoke Times
ROANOKE, Va. — Eight new firefighters are joining Roanoke fire stations across the city in 2026 after graduating Wednesday from an abbreviated training program.
The new recruits bring Roanoke Fire-EMS up to full staffing just ahead of a wave of retirements expected this year.
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Roanoke Fire and EMS celebrated Recruit Academy 2025-2’s graduation with a ceremony in the Berglund Center the afternoon of New Year’s Eve. Friends, family, training instructors and other members of the department were in attendance, as well as several city officials.
“This really is a great day for our recruits,” Chief David Hoback said during the ceremony. “It’s a great day for the organization, and it’s a great day for the families.”
The class stands out from others because every recruit started the training already certified as an EMS provider, Battalion Chief of Training Rhett Fleitz said. That allowed them to complete the training in 17 weeks, rather than following the typical 23-week timeline.
“The blessing of this class is that they were already certified in as EMTs or paramedics, so that shaved the time down, almost shaving 10 weeks off,” Fleitz said in an interview. “So that enables us to rejuvenate our numbers quicker than we are in the past.”
The department expects a high attrition rate between January and July due to firefighters retiring, Hoback said, so another class will begin training Jan. 6 . But for now, the 25-2 class of graduates has brought the department up to a full staff.
“From a staffing perspective, it really uplifts the organization,” Hoback said in an interview.
Hoback said that although the class was smaller than normal, with eight out of eleven candidates completing the training, he believes the graduates are a great group of firefighters. During his speech, Hoback commended the graduates for how they had grown throughout the past four months.
“What you’ve accomplished in the past 17 weeks cannot be measured by just test scores alone, skills mastered or hours logged,” Hoback said. “But it also is measured by disciplines learned, trust built, characters revealed.”
The eight completed a 5.2-mile walk from the Training Center, through downtown, passing historic former Station 1 on Church Avenue, the Fallen Firefighter Memorial at the Virginia Museum of Transportation and then on to the current Station 1 on Franklin Road.
Among the other speakers at Wednesday’s ceremony were Mayor Joe Cobb and former deputy city manager Sam Roman, who retired from his role at the end of that day. Roman also previously served as the city’s chief of police.
“I can say, over the past 31 years, I’ve had fun,” Roman said in his speech to the graduates. “So I wish you well, and I pray that you have fun over your next 31 years.”
During the ceremony, the graduates received awards for their leadership, physical fitness and character, had their badges pinned on to their chests by their loved ones and took their oath. Keeping with tradition, they also shared a video featuring clips of them during training.
Capt. Rob Reid , who announced the awards, told the graduates that it was humbling to be able to recognize their performance and character in front of their loved ones. The class’s chosen motto, “Do it anyway,” was a fitting reflection of the fire service, he said.
“It means we’re disciplined. It means we’re professional,” Reid said. “It means the work is hard, messy, unglamorous or inconvenient, and it’s when no one is watching, it’s when no one is applauding that you do it anyway. Because that is what public servants do.”
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