Twins, 21, among Milwaukee Fire Department graduating class

Wednesday, December 23, 2020, marked a big day for the next class of dedicated Milwaukee firefighters. The department’s academy graduated 43 new men and women into their ranks.

That graduation class included twin brothers who are excited to join one another.

“As the father of twins, do you want to just come up together?” asked one fireman jokingly before announcing the twins during graduation.

Jared and Jalen Cook-Carter, former Riverside High School students, now are Milwaukee department firefighters.

Both brothers, like all other now-former cadets were met with cheers as they walked the stage to become firefighters.

The twins, 21, are two of 43 cadets to become full-fledged firefighters in the City of Milwaukee.

“Yeah, we had nobody to look out and see [us] but you still hear your classmates cheering you on as you go out to get your badge,” Jalen Cook-Carter said.

The graduation was limited as the pandemic kept friends and family away from the ceremony. Fortunately, for Jared and Jalen, they had each other.

“I couldn’t imagine doing it without him. He pushed me every day. I’m sure I pushed him to go harder,” Jalen Cook-Carter said.

Those words were echoed by his brother.

“It’s like you have a mirror. You’re feeling down about something. And you think ‘well if he can do it. I can do it’,” Jared added.

The brothers were once recruited after high school into the department’s cadet training pipeline. Now, they’ve achieved their first career goal together.

“The main thing you wanted to be was a hero when you were younger. You just wanted to be a super hero. We might not have that supernatural power you see on TV, but this is as close to a superhero as you can have,” Jalen Cook-Carter said.