BRUNSWICK — Fifteen Maine firefighters have completed rigorous training at the Maine Fire Service Institute Officer Training Academy to prepare for leadership roles at fire departments across the state. A graduation ceremony was held Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Maine Fire Service Institute on the Southern Maine Community College Midcoast Campus. The institute is a department of SMCC and provides training and education services to Maine’s fire agencies and firefighting professionals, according to a SMCC news release.

Academy participants spent four months of preparation and homework course assignments along with 96 hours of full days of classroom instruction, which began Jan. 9. The graduates represent fire departments in Auburn, Augusta, Bar Harbor, Bath, Calais, Lewiston, North Lakes (Aroostook County), Rockland, Saco and Windham.

Training focused on legal issues, budgeting, media relations, personnel matters and other topics that are part of the job for full-time and volunteer chiefs and other fire officers, said Maine Fire Service Institute Director Bill Guindon.

“This academy provides training to prepare current and future officers by learning from the past and present and preparing for the future,” Guindon said in the release. “Instructors are seasoned veterans, some of whom have undergone the same training themselves.”

There are about 425 fire departments across Maine with an estimated 8,000 firefighters, about 1,000 who work full-time, Guindon said in the release.

The institute holds officer training academies annually. Those who complete the academy meet the training requirements for national fire officer certification through the Pro Board Fire Service Professional Qualifications System, also known as Pro Board.