Three New Firefighters Begin in Lakewood

The city of Lakewood has got a few new firefighters.

Matthew Scharfenberg, Brian Sedmak and Josh Erdani all began their first shifts on Sunday at on Madison Avenue. This week, they are training and getting familiar with the city and the inner-workings of the department.

Chief Scott Gilman said he's looking forward to getting the trio into action. The challenging process to become a Lakewood firefighter is over.

First, applicants must excel on the civil service exam, he said. Then, they must pass a physical agility test, a polygraph test and a series of interviews — including one with the mayor.

 “These guys are all certified firefighters,” he said. “They’re all qualified.”

The three full-time firefighters will fill vacancies created by the retirement of senior firefighters, including chief , assistant chief Larry Davalla and Mike Jurchenko.

 The department hired four last year, but the department is still down six firefighters since 2008-09, when the city restructured the department.

The new guys have been spending time learning. On Tuesday, they spent the afternoon in a training session about detecting hazardous materials.

“They’re all doing very well,” Gilman said. “They all have previous experience. Now, we want to use that experience to best serve Lakewood.”