by Adele Haeg
Firefighter Erika Bogan performed the national anthem for graduates and their families, as well as city officials including Mayor Justin Elicker, Chief Administrative Officer Justin McCarthy, Deputy Chief Miguel Rosado, Chief Daniel Coughlin, and others.
Elijah Robles, center, listened as retired firefighter and chaplain Isaias Miranda offered graduates a prayer: his remarks were “very touching,” Robles said.
When Lisette Nieves’s son Elijah Robles said he wanted to train to become a firefighter, she told him right away: “If I can do it, you can do it.”
On Monday, Nieves — who drives Engine 8 for the Whitney Avenue fire station — was called up onstage at the fire academy to present Robles with his new badge, salute him, shake his hand, and welcome him to the New Haven Fire Department.
Robles and Nieves are the first ever mother and son to serve the city’s fire department together.
“I’m very proud,” Nieves said. She said she used to take Robles and his older sister to watch firefighters responding to calls, and bring them to the station. Although she thought he might want to go to college, when the opportunity to join the academy came along, they both thought, “this is it,” Nieves said.
Robles, 19, graduated a year early from Platt High School in Meriden a few months before starting at New Haven’s fire academy in December 2025.
Mayor Justin Elicker swore in Robles and 15 other graduates of the New Haven Fire Academy on Monday. The ceremony took place at the Michael E. Grant Regional Fire Training School at 230 Ella T. Grasso Blvd.
Four of the new grads are children of current members of the department — including Christopher Oliwa and twins Brendan and Brian Jooss Jr. This 66th class is the first to join the department under newly appointed fire chief Daniel Coughlin, who was confirmed in April.
Speakers at Monday’s graduation ceremony included Coughlin, Elicker, Assistant Fire Chief Shakira Samuel, department chaplains Reverend Dr. Kelcey Steele — who is also a fire commissioner — and Isais Miranda, and Brendan Jooss, the recruit class president. They offered remarks both in celebration and preparation — a few of the new firefighters will be on call Tuesday, and Robles will be one of them.
One of Coughlin’s initiatives as the city’s new chief has been to restart the chaplaincy program, which has been inactive for about nine years. He told alders before he was confirmed that he wanted chaplains to help support firefighters’ mental health. He said on Monday chaplains were there for “tradition as well as support for firefighters during tough times as well as ceremonial purposes.”
During Monday’s ceremony the department also presented one recruit with the Chief Dennis Daniels Award “for excellence in both the academic and hands-on firefighter skills,” according to Coughlin. This year’s recipient was Joe Shettleworth. His mother, Sharon Shettleworth, said he recently left his position at the Westfield Fire Department because he wanted to work in New Haven — it’s a “great team,” she said.
After a rigorous six months at the academy, Director of Training Chris Zyskowski said he is confident all of the recruits are ready. A few of them, including Robles, will be on call Tuesday evening starting at 6:00 p.m.
Miguel Rosado, president of the city’s firefighters union and a second-generation firefighter himself, remembered being on call the day after his graduation. “It was surreal,” he said. “Now you’re not practicing anymore.”
Zyskowski said the “meat and potatoes” of New Haven’s fire academy regiment has stayed much the same since he started at the department in 2008, including EMT training and burning simulations, among other physical and academic tests. “The most difficult thing for them is adjusting to whatever they were doing before this to that high level of intensity and learning a lot in little time.”
Coughlin said that having new recruits “breathes new life” into the department. “Everybody gets sharper,” when the graduates come into the firehouse, he added.
Although what is ahead for the recruits will also be intense, Brian Jooss, parent to Brian Jr. and Brendan Jooss, said that making it through training is not a given: “Once they get their certifications and they graduate, it’s like the weight of the world is off their shoulders,” he said.
During his training, Nieves said Robles had questions about fire procedure and how to respond to calls. “I would go through with him step by step how everything would be,” she said. After his first week, Nieves said, she expects that her son “is going to be exhausted.”
The 16 graduates of the 66th New Haven Fire Academy class are Brendan Carroll, Christopher Dolan, Andrew Gagne, Javon Grey, Brian Jooss, Brendan Jooss, Dario Massaro, Brendan Murray, Christopher Oliwa, Vincent Orfini, Joel Ortiz, Elijah Robles, Grant Russell, John Shettelworth, Michael Simons, and Bryce Wade.
Coughlin said that the city’s fire department is budgeted for 364 firefighters; after Monday’s graduation, he said the department is now down to 24 vacancies.