City of Olean Fire Department

08/29/2026

Please join the City of Olean Fire Department in congratulating the firefighters of RFFT 2026-1 on their successful graduation from the City of Olean Recruit Training Program!

Congratulations to Salamanca FF Jeff Maybee and Olean firefighters FF Benjamin Roosa, FF Noah Bartholomew, FF Jesse Hamed, FF Micah Jordan, FF Drew Langdon, and FF Aiden Gregorio.

08/27/2026

Recruits completed weeks 13 and 14 of their training today. Today marks the final full day of the academy with the class set to graduate tomorrow evening.

The past two weeks recruits covered code enforcement, building tours, advanced live fire training, vehicle extrication, fire investigation and vehicle fires.

In addition to their normal training recruits also completed a 24 hour shift this week that allowed them to completing training evolutions in limited lighting conditions and experiences some of the stressors associated with long shifts.

08/17/2026

Over this past weekend, Captain Swift of A Platoon attended the Jimmy Ellis Training Weekend in the Pittsburgh area.

The weekend kicked off with guest speakers on Thursday, followed by two full days of live-fire training. Captain Swift participated in over 30 live-fire training evolutions throughout the weekend.

Training topics included:

* Search operations
* Forcible entry
* Hose line advancement
* Thermal imaging
* Roof ventilation
* And many other critical fireground skills

All of the training was conducted under live-fire conditions, providing realistic, hands-on experience designed to better prepare firefighters for the challenges they face on the fireground.

08/15/2026

RFFT 2026-1 completed rope rescue training this past week in conjunction with the OFD Technical Rescue Team. Recruits first learned the basics of rope and confined space rescue before joining the OFD TRT for a series rescue evolutions at various sites throughout the city.

The OFD TRT also took the opportunity to place our new confined space supplied air system and Terradapter in service.

A huge thank you goes out to the City of Olean sewer treatment team for the use of their sites for the training evolutions. Rock-N-Rescue and Steel City Safety Access and Rescue were also instrumental in helping us complete a week full of excellent training.

08/10/2026

08/07/2026

Recruits covered a few topics this week including RIT training to learn how to rescue an injured or missing firefighter and man in machine rescue training.

PT continues as well on a daily basis with recruits running a total of 15 miles and completing multiple strength training sessions this past week alone.

07/30/2026

Boat operations and swift water swimming techniques practice for RFFT 2026-1.

07/30/2026

RFFT 2026-1 shifted their attention to special operations training the past 2 weeks. Recruits spent much of their time training on hazardous materials response, receiving training up to the technician level. Training consisted of lessons in chemistry, container assessments, action options, personal protective equipment, incident action planning, analytical tools, and a series of scenario based evolutions.

Recruits concluded week 10 by covering collapse rescue awareness, trench rescue awareness, and swift and flood water rescue operations.

07/17/2026

Pump Ops, flammable gas fires and flammable liquid fires were on the menu this past week. Recruits learned the roles and responsibilities of the pump operator and how to manage both urban and rural water supply operations.

Recruits have officially passed the halfway point in their training with only 6 weeks remaining in the program.

07/12/2026

Weeks 6 and 7 of RFFT 2026-1 were packed with hands-on training and new skills. Recruits completed instruction in forcible entry, ventilation, aerial operations, and live fire training evolutions.

Live fire training gives recruits the opportunity to experience some of the conditions they will encounter at an actual structure fire while also applying the basic firefighting skills they have learned throughout the academy. These realistic training scenarios are conducted under the supervision of Live Fire Instructors from the City of Olean and the City of Salamanca, providing a controlled environment to build confidence, teamwork, and operational readiness.