Fourth Generation Firefighter Joins Tulsa Cadet Class

Tulsa Fire Cadets are just three months from graduation and on Friday, March 29, they took part in live fire training exercises as their families watched.

It was the first time cadets' families got to see them in action. One of those cadets will be a fourth generation firefighter.  Do the math, and his family has been serving Tulsans for more than 70 years.

In all, 30 Tulsa Fire Cadets showed their loved ones what they've learned so far and what it takes to save lives.

"Its all about protecting our partners and the hose lines that we take in and how to protect our people and finding those valves and shutting those down," said Firefighter, Julie Lynn, Chief of Training for the Tulsa Fire Department.

One of those cadets is Colin Ward. When he graduates in June, he'll be following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, grandfather and his father, all firefighters.

His mom is also a dispatcher.

"Honestly, amazing knowing that by the time I retire - if I serve as long as I want - to my family will have served this city for 100 years and knowing that we are a family, that we just want to help other people," said Ward.

Ward said the reason he signed up was to help others.

"I wanted my work to mean something. I knew my family had time on the job" said Ward.

Video of a recent training showed other cadets were focusing on liquefied petroleum gas. Friday night's viewing is just a small piece of their months long intensive training.

"it's a tradition in the fire service - we welcome everybody, and we want to make everybody feel like a family," said Chief of Training Julie Lynn.

And soon these cadets will be hitting the streets, working as a team to protect themselves and others.

"I've been trained to not only safely protect myself but every citizen of this city and my fellow firefighters," said Colin Ward, training to be the fourth generation in his family to fight fires for Tulsa.

The cadets graduate June 4th.