ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – The Roanoke Valley has new firefighters working to keep you safe.
On Thursday, 31 men and women graduated from the Roanoke Valley Regional Fire-EMS Recruit Academy.
Recruits spent nearly 1,000 hours in training during the last 18 weeks, learning everything from search and rescue to forcible entry.
Trevor Simmons, who just became a firefighter, is excited to start serving the region.
"Our hope is that we go out and do good work, serve our community to the best of our ability, hope we make it home safe and have a long happy career," said Simmons
There are 13 graduates from Roanoke County, 15 from Roanoke City and three from Salem.