It was a graduation, but there were no caps and gowns. Eleven on-call firefighters, clad in uniforms and black work boots, celebrated the completion of their training at Onset Fire Department on Friday, June 18.

Of the 11 graduates, six were from Onset and five were from Marion. It was the first time the Onset and Marion fire departments combined forces for training, said Captain Raymond Goodwin, who runs the training program with the help of Captain Howard L. Andersen and firefighters Jeffrey Dias and Paul Ingeno.

The group started training in November, and completed the Firefighter 1 and 2 courses, the state level of certification for firefighters.

"Resource sharing is really important" in this fiscal environment, Goodwin said. "Our guys got a lot out of it, their guys got a lot out of it, and they made friendships that will probably last a lifetime."