The Providence Fire Department helds its commencement yesterday at the Providence Convention Center. Graduates Christopher Brouchu, left, and Patrick Paskowski pose with their respective parents, retired Providence Fire Capt. Paul Brouchu and Charlene Paskoski following the ceremonies.

The Providence Journal / John Freidah

PROVIDENCE — Twenty-four trainees were graduated from the Fire Department’s 48th Training Academy yesterday, representing what Mayor David N. Cicilline called “the most diverse and inclusive” academy class ever.

The department held a ceremonious graduation at the Rhode Island Convention Center attended by about 220 people — relatives of graduates and uniformed firefighters, emergency medical technicians and department supervisors. Outside, two ladder trucks were parked with their extended ladders touching, forming an arch, to mark the occasion.

Four black men, one Hispanic man and three Asian men, or 33 percent of the class, were among those sworn in as third-class firefighters and then handed their diplomas and badges.

Cicilline declared in his brief keynote address at the ceremony that the class reflects the community. But there are no women — a point that was not lost on Firefighter Paul Doughty, president of the firefighters labor union, the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 799.

Doughty, whose union has been engaged in a years-long battle with city government over labor contracts, faulted the Cicilline administration and the department leadership for not having recruited women who could have completed the training. The department’s work force has about 5 percent women, he pointed out, which is well short of the city’s official affirmative-action goal of 50 percent.

“They should have done some more recruiting … to make sure they’re truly diverse, not press release diverse,” Doughty said after the event.

Fire Chief George S. Farrell replied that three women were eligible to attend the academy, based on a qualifying test that was given about two years ago and a resultant eligibility list. They were invited to the 48th academy but declined, he said.

Between the time that an eligibility list is established and then gradually exhausted as candidates are enrolled in successive academies, someone who was interested initially might have changed her mind or been hired elsewhere, Farrell pointed out. The department will now resume the recruitment process, he said, and seek women for the next academy.

There was a mix of old and new at the graduation, with some first-generation firefighters taking the oath of office as well as others from extended families in which firefighting has been a tradition. In five cases, a relative pinned the small silver badge with a circular blue field in the middle and the words “Fire Fighter” on the uniform coat of a graduate.

Among them were Battalion Chief Thomas Brearley, who pinned his son Patrick; retired Firefighter Paul Brochu, who pinned his son Christopher; Lt. Louis Box, who pinned his son-in-law, Gregory Pavao; and Capt. Alan Horton, who pinned his son-in-law, Stephen Rose.

When Battalion Chief James M. Gallant, academy director, presented the class to the audience, they were given a standing ovation.

Afterward, one of the newly minted firefighters, Alan Chuman, gave a half-serious, half-lighthearted “class response” in which he delivered a pledge to the public on behalf of the graduates: We will put ourselves in harm’s way in order to keep you out of harm’s way.

In an especially poignant moment, Assistant Fire Chief Thomas N. Warren called the families of the graduates forward, including small children, to participate in a recitation of the Firefighters’ Prayer.

The opening phrases of the prayer say:

“When I am called to duty, God,

Wherever flames may rage,

Give me strength to save some life

Whatever be its age.”

Cicilline and Farrell said the department members’ families are important both to the members and the institution.

“No one gets to this point on their own,” the mayor reminded the audience. Only with the love and support of friends and family members do trainees make the grade, he said. Farrell said the members will continue to need that support and that they must find a healthy balance of work and home life.

The graduates, as listed in the ceremony program, are: Matthew Caffrey, Ryan Foss, Fernando Arig, Raymond McCauley, Andrew Cady, Miles Bonalewicz, Charles Williams, Patrick Brearley, Robert Taylor, James Silva, Patrick Paskoski, and Gregory Meers.

Also, Christopher Brochu, Michael Bradford, Alvin Pena, Gregory Pavao, Michael Peck, James Chisholm, Fernando Nino, Stephen Rose, Jared Scolaro, Thomas Kelly, Adam Chuman, and Brian Chin.

Their training entailed fire behavior; the suppression of flammable-liquid and flammable-gas fires; working with hose and ladders; search-and-rescue practices; emergency-medical instruction leading to their certifications as EMTs; hazardous-materials instruction leading to their certifications as technicians in that specialty; the operation of emergency vehicles; and department procedures, among other topics.

Field work outside the rooms of the department’s Division of Training was done at the training facilities of the Union Fire District in South Kingstown and the New Haven, Conn., Fire Department.

Today, they report to duty in a department of 400-plus members, which is the second-largest in New England and, according to Firehouse magazine, one of the busier departments in the nation.

The union dispute smoldered off-stage yesterday. Prohibited by law from striking or mounting job actions such as the withholding of certain services, the union continues to resort to other means of pressuring the Cicilline administration to negotiate a satisfactory contract. That includes submitting numerous grievances objecting to perceived violations of the legal rights of union members.

In an attempt to save money, Farrell departed from custom and contracted with a company to give those recruits who lacked EMT-Basic certification the necessary training before the academy rather than during the academy. As a result, the academy was reduced from six months to four.

That way, Farrell said, he saved money: one, because recruits, who are paid during academies, went to a shorter-duration academy; and, two, because he did not temporarily reassign certain department members to serve as academy instructors for EMT-Basic. He saved money, he explained, by not having to pay overtime to others to fill in for those who would have been reassigned.

But the union lodged a grievance against that subcontracting, contending in part that some of its members had been deprived of income. The grievance is about to go to arbitration.

Farrell said he is confident of winning the arbitration case, but if he loses, his savings might be reduced or wiped out by a back-pay award to union members.

In addition, Farrell tried to follow tradition and have Local 799’s parent union send hazardous-materials instructors to the academy. But he said Doughty this time refused to cooperate. To compensate, Farrell said he found instructors certified by the Rhode Island Fire Academy, some of whom are department members, and used them at the academy. That provoked another grievance.

The dispute even affected the collation after the ceremony. The attendees were invited to the Roger Williams Park Casino for refreshments.

The union traditionally contributes money to pay for the collation. This year it refused.

gsmith@projo.com