A new class of 21 trainees for the Colorado Springs Fire Department graduated from the academy on Friday afternoon. They may be the last new class of firefighters for a while.

The 2025-1 class of new firefighters was celebrated at a packed ceremony at New Life Church in the far north end of Colorado Springs. Mayor Yemi Mobolade, Fire Chief Randy Royal and several other leaders from the fire department honored the graduates with the oath of office and had the trainees’ families pin on their badges for the first time.

“You are going to be going into people’s chaos and making it less chaotic. Just by walking into there with your uniform on, they will experience a change in their fear because you are there to make them feel better,” Royal said.

Friday’s graduating class included three veterans and firefighters originally from Germany and Venezuela, Royal said during the ceremony.

Incoming firefighters normally go through 18 weeks of training at the fire academy to test their knowledge and practice the hands-on work of saving lives. The academy is staffed by current Colorado Springs firefighters who can train them on the specifics of the local response.

Lieutenant Hollis Danley, who has helped coordinate the past two academies, said it was reinvigorating to work with the new firefighters as they come in.

“You learn early on that what seems to be impossible really isn’t and can be overcome with a lot of hard work, repetition, and maybe some really good coaching,” Danley said.

Danley said the course was cut down from 20 weeks by delaying the driver certification until the graduates’ first probationary year on the job.

u003ca href=u0022https://gazettedev.gazette.com/2025/10/10/colorado-springs-fire-department-cancels-training-academy-for-2026-to-meet-budget-cuts/u0022u003eColorado Springs Fire Department cancels training academy for 2026 to meet budget cuts – Colorado Springs Gazetteu003c/au003e: Colorado Springs Fire Department celebrates graduation of 21 new firefighters from academy

The new firefighters were the only class that went through the academy in 2025, and there may not be another for a year. The Fire Department has cancelled the 2026 training academy to help address Colorado Springs’ roughly $31 million budget decline heading into next year.

The academy costs around $1.6 million to put on, largely due to the pay for the incoming recruits and the firefighters called off the trucks to teach the trainees. That made it one of the only parts of the department’s budget that could be cut without immediate public safety concerns. The academy was put off for several years after the 2008 recession.

Fire department leaders have said they may bring back the academy late in 2026 with a smaller class than normal, depending on the city’s economic outlook and the strain on the current staff.