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City of Erie swears in eight new firefighters in special ceremony

The City of Erie Fire Department had a special swearing in ceremony Thursday morning, an event that had to wait over a year because of the pandemic.

Eight City of Erie firefighters are finally getting sworn into the department.

“It’s a completing of all their hard training and testing and sacrifices that they made to become fire fighters, it’s a crowning achievement,” said Joe Walko, chief of the Erie Fire Department.

The chief added why its special to be a fire fighter.

“To protect and to serve our first job is to save lives our second job is to fight fires and now that EMS is in crisis with manpower, we are still meeting the call in our objectives and taking care of the people of Erie,” Chief Walko went on to say.

The fire department also has a special import from Spain to help with some of the most important jobs.

They also swore in Horace the dog, who is a certified ATF dog. There are only 66 other dogs like him in the United States.

One of men sworn in Thursday, Cody McDonald, said it’s his life dream to serve the Erie community.

“Just knowing that we can help the people in the community and make sure that they can get home safely to their families even during a catastrophe like a fire or an accident. Just making sure that we give them the full help that they need so they can see their loved ones,” said Cody McDonald, City of Erie firefighter.

If you’re interested in joining the Erie Fire Department, the chief added that applications are starting online on the city’s website beginning April 18.