Cadets in the know

Darleene Barrientos

Five residents have easily settled in as the Glendale Fire

Department’s inaugural group of cadets.

Jeff Brooks, Hagop Kurdian, Sarah Cohan, Karlow Krikor and Dan

Rasmussen have been with the department for a month and seem to be

more enthusiastic about fire service than before.

“I am just being exposed to everything as much as I can,” said

23-year-old Kurdian of La Crescenta. Kurdian is assigned to the

department’s training facility. “I love it -- people have been great.

Everybody’s just been really nice. If I have a question, everyone’s

willing to answer my questions.”

The cadets are part of a program intended to introduce those

interested in the fire service to the workings of a fire department.

Glendale Fire has had an Explorer program for several years, which

was only open to people between 16 and 20. The cadet program bridges

the gap between the Explorers and newly hired firefighters.

“They’re doing great,” Glendale Fire Chief Chris Gray said of the

cadets. “They’ve assimilated very well into the department. They’ve

provided a great resource. I’ve been very impressed and pleased with

their progress so far.”

Cohan, of Montrose, grew up in La Crescenta. She always

considered the fire service and made the decision to try it about

three years ago.

“I started researching, I got my [emergency medical technician

certificate]. I started preparing myself physically,” Cohan said.

Cohan, 21, was assigned to the fire prevention bureau, where she

is learning how environmental design can help prevent a fire.

She most recently took a tour of Glendale Police’s new station,

which is scheduled to open after the first of the year.

“It’s been absolutely incredible working with these guys,” she

said. “Everyone has been wonderful and extremely informative.”

Krikor, 31, is hoping his stint as a cadet will help him get a

foot in the door at the Glendale Fire Department. Working as a

security supervisor for the J. Paul Getty Trust, Krikor said he

always wanted to be a firefighter. Krikor, who lives in Glendale, is

also assigned to training, along with Kurdian and Rasmussen.

“It’s a challenging career. You don’t do the same thing every

day,” he said.

Brooks, 30, said his biggest challenge as a cadet so far has been

juggling his duties with his work schedule. Brooks is a territory

manager for Georgia Pacific, the company that manufactures Dixie

cups.

“This is a great opportunity to see all elements of the

department,” he said. “We’re all moved through different areas of the

department.”