Chicago Fire Department welcomes 109 new employees, police welcome 46

CHICAGO - Hundreds were in attendance for the Chicago firefighter graduation at Navy Pier, as 109 firefighters and EMTs will join the 164-year history of the Chicago Fire Department.

"No book or drill can prepare you for what you see on the street. There will be losses and that’s unfortunate," said Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt. "As hard as it must be, you must remember not to take the job home with you."

Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke about the diversity of the class.

"I was proud of to learn that 14 of you have backgrounds in law enforcement. Fourteen are public school graduates, nine are women, 14 are Black,19 are Hispanic, and three are Asian," said Lightfoot.

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Earlier in the day at the same location, the Chicago Police Department gained 46 new officers — slow gains for a department that’s down 2,000 police officers.

"There’s never been a tougher time to be the police, but still you chose to answer the call to serve and protect, every day," said Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown. "Every single day. The men and women of CPD run towards danger when everyone else is running from it."

Only on the force for one month, Damian Alfaro acknowledges the job isn’t easy — even though Alfaro has his father Hector to turn to. Hector has been on the force since 1995.

"It was a little tiring. I worked 11 straight days," said Damian, a recent Chicago Police recruit.

Of the graduating CPD class, 26% are women and 78% are people of color.