The fire recruit stepped onto the stage, dressed in his formal uniform.
For six months, Jordan Hudgins and his classmates had hauled 40-pound hoses up three flights of stairs and rescued dummies from obstacle courses.
It had all led to this: graduation from the city’s fire academy.
For Jordan, the moment held extra meaning. His father, John Hudgins Jr., died in the line of duty 20 years ago – one of Chesapeake’s fallen firefighters. Now, Jordan had chosen the same vocation, joining his father’s old department.
Training instructor Richard Byrd called out the names of the new firefighters, followed by an assignment – the engine number where each recruit would start his or her career.
Jordan walked forward. “For this next one,” Byrd said, “I have a little bit to add on.”
Jordan was assigned to Engine 5 in Great Bridge, he said. But there was something else.