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.