Newest San Antonio firefighters ready to serve

Cadet class graduates Friday

SAN ANTONIO – Twenty-six weeks of intense training came to an end for the San Antonio Fire Department's Cadet Class 2017 Alpha, the first graduating class since the death of firefighter Scott Deem.

Kiel Galvin’s mother isn’t surprised her son chose to join the San Antonio Fire Department.

“Considering we have a picture of he and his cousin fighting a fire at my mother's backyard with a hose and playhouse, I think since he was 4 years old, he wanted to be a fireman,” said Susan Galvin at Family Day for Cadet Class 2017 Alpha at the SAFD Training Academy.

“I kind of just fell in love with the job in college, did some ridealongs and that was it for me,” said Kiel Galvin, who has a cousin and two uncles who serve as firefighters in Los Angeles.

His classmate Kassandra Hernandez also knew this is what she wanted for a very long time after spending nearly a decade trying to earn it.

“I've tried ever since I was 18, and I’m 26 now. So, consistency,” Hernandez said. “They push you to be just like one of the males. It was a challenge, but I overcame it and now I feel like one of them.”

Hernandez’s short sleeves revealed a tattoo on her right forearm with the words “Love” and “Mom.” Her mother passed away three years ago after a lengthy battle with leukemia.

“She always pushed me to do this,” Hernandez said. “She knew I wanted to do this.”

“She would dream about it and now she's here,” said Nathan Carrasquillo, Hernandez’s nephew. “I hope she continues doing it for as long as she can.”

Thursday night’s event began with self-guided tours and dinner, followed by real world scenarios, allowing the cadet class to show their families what they’ve learned. They were in the middle of their training program when Scott Deem lost his life in the Ingram Square fire in May. It’s a reminder of what all these new firefighters are willing to do.

“There's obviously dangers to the job, but it's really the pride of service and the fact that he wants to give his life to service is the thing that, really, I think about all the time,” Susan Galvin said.

“It really motivated me to better myself, better my classmates, so I can go out into the field next week and bring what I'm capable of to my crew,” Kiel Galvin said.

“I know what I'm willing to do. I questioned, ‘Is this really what I wanted to do?’ But I came to the answer that this is what I was meant to do,” Hernandez said.

The recruits officially graduate Friday.

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