Left, Tim "TJ" Ewers is pinned by his mother, Juliene, while Alex Klonowski is pinned by his mother, Tammi, on July 26. (Metro Wire photos)

Two cadets, first from new training academy, sworn into service at SPFD

August 2, 2021

By Brandi Makuski

The Stevens Point Fire Department has sworn in its two newest members—graduates of the department’s new internal fire training academy.

Tim “TJ” Ewers, 20, and 26-year-old Alex Klonowski were sworn into service on July 26, bringing the department’s complement to 32 firefighter/paramedics.

*Alex Klonowski (left) and TJ Ewers “rescue” Firefighter/Paramedic Dustin Fleisner during July 1 training at Bukolt Park. (Metro Wire photo)*

Called “candidates” while in training, Ewers and Klonowski started the new SPFD academy in June, supervised by Training Officer Trevor Howard but with assistance from other members of the department.

The training academy puts candidates—those already with firefighting and paramedic certifications—through a variety of emergency training responses seen by the SPFD. Candidates receive intense, hands-on training in various types of rescue, advanced life-saving, and firefighting skills.

Prior to installing the academy, Howard said the training offered by SPFD wasn’t as consistent as he felt it could be. New members would undergo one week of training on dayshift before being assigned to a crew. Crews at SPFD work 24-hour shifts.

“We are constantly training, but before the academy, new members were learning different skills at different times,” Howard said during a water rescue training event at Bukolt Park in July. “This provides them with consistent, reinforced training for their first five weeks on dayshift; after that, then they get assigned to a crew.”

*The cadets learn how the use the department’s extrication tools during a training event at Johnson Towing on July 7. (Metro Wire photo)*

Klowoski is a native of Wisconsin Rapids and previously worked as a volunteer firefighter in Grand Rapids. He attended classes at UW-Stevens Point and participated in an internship at SPFD while still in school.

“I kind of fell in love with the city,” he said. “Plus, when I was doing my internship I found it’s a great group of guys and I love the atmosphere here.”

Klonowski said he enjoyed the training because it made him feel safer to make errors while other department members were present to catch them.

“It’s better to learn here, than on the scene where someone could get hurt,” he said.

Ewers is from Clinton, Wis., and first visited the city while his sister attended classes at UWSP. He said he was introduced to firefighting at an early age by another family member, and “fell in love with the area” while visiting.

The training academy gave him a boost in confidence, Ewers said.

“It’s nice to know what’s expected of me, to know how this department does things—before I get on a crew,” he said.

Howard said the first class had its share of bumps, but adaptability is a necessary trait in the fire service.

“It absolutely did not go as planned,” Howard said, chuckling. “But these guys were very good about it, I was very impressed with them. We had a lot of fun, spent a lot of time together, got a lot of work done. I learned a lot from them for the future. Hopefully, they learned a lot from me. We’ll keep getting better with each academy.”