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DOWAGIAC — A trio of local first responders recently completed rigorous training.

The Dowagiac Fire Department celebrated Britney Peet, Michael Luna and Nathan Ducklow for completing their Firefighter I, Firefighter II and Hazmat Ops training through the State Fire Marshal’s Office/Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

The training totaled 242 hours and included approximately 30 hours of HazMat training, 16 hours of rescue training and eight hours of driving school. Newly certified firefighters were honored with a dinner, a certificate presentation and an official swear-in ceremony along with their comrades.

Peet joined the department in December 2019, Luna in January 2020 and Ducklow in July 2020.

The Dowagiac Fire Department is led by Director of Public Safety Steven Grinnewald, Deputy Fire Chief Robert “Smitty” Smith, full-time Lieutenants Robert Nelson and Anthony Stewart as well as 17 on-call, paid firefighters all working for the city.  2019 was a record year for the department, which logged 315 calls, up from 260 in 2018.