On Friday, November 16, 2018, the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) celebrated the commencement ceremony of the Milwaukee Fire Recruits class of 2018. Among those graduating where Tahj Lea (front row, center), the son of Torrey Lea and Pam Malone, who at the age of 20 has decided to forgo the college career track in architecture and pursue a career with the Milwaukee Fire Department.
The fire cadet program consists of 22 months of training and work experience which includes college level coursework in firefighting, pre-hospital medicine, and general education subjects such as foreign language, anatomy, and physiology. Upon successful completion of the Fire Cadet Program and passing a physical ability test, fire cadets may be promoted to the rank of fire recruit and upon completing the MFD recruit class, they will officially be an MFD firefighter.