On Monday, July 30, 2018, four new firefighters/paramedics were sworn-in to serve the residents and businesses of Cathedral City. They include Kael Eaves, Josiah Maier, Brodie Trayer, and Derek Wochholz. These firefighters filled positions vacated due to department retirements and internal promotions.
They will now go through the Cathedral City Fire Department Academy that trains firefighters on the policies and procedures in accordance to our fire department. Once again, the department is staffed with forty-six full-time positions who answer the call of duty to provide life safety and fire protection for the residents and visitors of Cathedral City.
Back in March, the City celebrated the largest graduating class of the Cathedral City Fire Academy of six additional firefighters. This was on top of three new firefighters hired in June 2017. A total of nine new firefighters/paramedics have been hired in the past year to serve Cathedral City. Much of the funding needed to provide for these new public safety services can be attributed to the cannabis tax revenue voters approved of in 2014 and 2016 and a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
