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Buffalo welcomes largest ever firefighter class

The Buffalo Fire Department has 109 new firefighters after they received their badges Thursday night in a ceremony in Bennett High School, completing the long process of exams, processing and the fire academy in Cheektowaga.

The graduation brings the department up to 684 firefighters.

Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield was there to welcome the new officers, including his son, Garnell Whitfield III

"I think he's up to the task. This is about opportunity for all, equal opportunity for all. It doesn't matter what your name is," Commissioner Whitfield said. 

"He's going to face some scrutiny. He's going to face some razzing in the fire house across the kitchen table and that. But at the end of the day, he will have the same opportunity that others have."

Whitfield is joining a department with a long tradition of generations of families who have served.

The new firefighters were hired under a new union contract which requires them to live in the city for their careers, something the fire commissioner says means they all are protecting the neighborhoods they have grown up in and live in and protecting their own families.

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.