Hampden - Firefighters from surrounding areas have spent the past two weeks in Hampden learning the necessary skills to become a fire officer.

The fire officer program is designed for firefighters interested in the administrative side of the profession.

The class includes students with 5 to 34 years in the fire service from Bangor, Brewer, Eddington, Ellsworth, Hampden, Hermon, Holden, Oakland, Old Town and Orrington fire departments.

Some of the candidates are already officers and others are hoping for future promotions.

Lt. Dan Pugsley with the Hampden Fire Department says they're seeing an increase in the amount of people going to fire school and programs like this make firefighters even more valuable.

"(The) promotional processes are very competitive. Many departments may have 7 to 8 people trying to vie for one position and this class upon completion is a big step for those people in trying to get that training and if you didn't have it, you'd be overlooked in the process," said Lt. Dan Pugsley with the Hampden Fire Department.

At the end of the program, the students will be eligible for a national recognized proboard certification as fire officer one and two.

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