On April 19, Captain Howard L. Andersen and Captain Jeffrey J. Dias of the Onset Fire Department graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy's Fire Officer III Training Program.

Consisting of 60 hours of classroom training with reading and research preparation outside of the classroom, the class tested both firefighters on a weekly basis and mandated a graded final project that was presented to a panel of fire chiefs.

The program builds on the managerial and administrative skills learned in the preceding course (Fire Office II) by expanding into human resource management, community and government relations, inspection and investigation, emergency services delivery and health and safety.