Newport hires 8 firefighters

Usually in a class of firefighters, some are bound not to make it through the grueling, yearlong training.

But not this time. Newport Beach firefighters welcomed all eight recruits into their ranks on Thursday at a special ceremony.

“It was a tough process but you pull together and do what you’ve got to do,” firefighter Ryan O’Leary said. “There were times when you get a little discouraged, but you see the light at the end of the tunnel and know your hard work paid off.”

O’Leary, 23, a Mission Viejo resident, studied firefighting at Santa Ana College, studied emergency medical training at Saddleback College and worked as an ambulance operator for Huntington Beach.

Geoffrey Cathey, Phillip Puhek, Aaron Reed, David Shank, Michael Sodergren, Lloyd Ellis, and Ryan Bullock joined O’Leary Thursday.

“The process — even to get hired — the bar keeps getting raised,” Fire Chief Steve Lewis said. “Then when you get in the door it’s one more year of intense testing and studying,” and if the trainees fail even one exam they’re out.

“They have no assurance of employment until the last day,” Lewis added.