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Council confirms nine firefighters who completed probationary year
Summary
The City Council confirmed nine firefighters on Oct. 6 after staff recommended the appointments following completion of a one-year probationary period and required training; the confirmations were approved as part of the consent agenda.
Kalispell — The City Council confirmed nine firefighters on Oct. 6 after the department recommended their regular appointment at the end of a one-year probationary period.
Chief Hagen (presenting) recommended confirmation of the nine members who began service on Sept. 30, 2024 and have completed the probationary year, which included an 18-week initial academy and ongoing field experience. "At this point, these firefighters have attained firefighter 1 and 2 certifications and hazardous materials operations and numerous other job related trainings and requirements all pointed at operational readiness," the chief said.
The council approved the confirmations as part of the consent agenda. The confirmations listed by staff were Mitch Klein, Sydney Becker, Ian Whalen, John Hegness, Jessica Lyles, Vinnie Thompson, Jeremy Odio, Seager Higgins and Michael Martinez (absent from the meeting but included in the list). Chief Hagen noted several of the members hold or are pursuing advanced-life-support credentials and that captains Jeremy Grady and Joe Hanson led the training academy.
A class representative, Mitch Klein, spoke briefly, saying it was "the best job in the world" and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to serve. The council approved the consent agenda and the confirmations by voice vote.
