SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The new recruits for the South Bend and Michigan City Fire Departments were officially sworn in on Friday.

Thirteen firefighters were sworn in. Three of the recruits will be heading to Michigan City, and ten of them will serve in South Bend.

Officials at the swearing in say that they are excited for the new recruits to begin their careers.

“As they come up through their careers they’re going to remember the firefighters they worked with from Michigan city and vice versa and I just think the way our departments are becoming stitched together it’s part of the coolest side benefits of this method,” Todd Skwarcan said, the Fire Chief of the South Bend Fire Department.

Training for the firefighters began in September of 2019, which introduced recruits to real life situations during emergencies.

The training period lasted 21 weeks.