Apopka Fire Department welcomes 14 new firefighters to its ranks

Before a capacity crowd at City Hall, the Apopka Fire Department welcomed 14 new firefighters/EMTs to its ranks at a swearing-in ceremony that included friends, family, members of the AFD, Mayor Bryan Nelson, Fire Chief Sean Wylam, Commissioners Kyle Becker and Diane Velazquez, and Micheal Duran, the father of deceased Firefighter Austin Duran, who in many ways triggered the hiring spree.

 

"In the last eight months of advocating for a more trained and safer fire department, our efforts have paid off," said Duran in a Facebook post. "What started with a letter my son wrote, that we found after he passed and an open conversation with a firefighter, we were able to fight for a new way of protecting our fine men and women of the AFD. The chamber of city hall was filled with lots of new recruits and newly appointed white shirts, Chiefs, all due to a special firefighter, Austin Duran. There is still much work to be done, but we are on the right path to a better way of doing things. A new and improved version of the Apopka Fire Department. Congratulations on our new staff positions. Congratulations to the AFD and to the city of Apopka."

 

 

Commissioner Diane Velazquez, who was one of the driving forces behind hiring additional firefighters, was pleased with the turnout.