Crime & Safety
New Firefighters Join RBFD
Paramedic Chad M. Smith, firefighter Brad Boster and firefighter Matt Taras join the Redondo Beach Fire Department.
Three new firefighters officially joined the Redondo Beach Fire Department on Friday.
Paramedic Chad M. Smith, firefighter Brad Boster and firefighter Matt Taras were sworn in by Chief Robert Metzger. The trio also received their badges in the ceremony.
"When we have young men and women who've agreed to step up (and serve as firefighters) … those folks take on an unusual burden," Metzger told members of the fire department and harbor patrol, as well as the new recruits' families.
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This was the first pinning ceremony since Metzger was sworn in as fire chief earlier this year.
Metzger and other members of the fire department emphasized that the department is a family, and reminded the new families that they are not alone.
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To emphasize the feeling of community, the new firefighters and their families were given a tour of Fire Station No. 1 and treated to a celebratory lunch earlier Friday.
Smith, Boster and Taras are the third trio to join the fire department in the last year.
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