The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service hosted its 100th graduation service in Brisbane today.

Past recruits helped to celebrate the momentous occasion.

Kate Lavrencic reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Every graduation here is worth celebrating, but today’s ceremony is a milestone for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.

This group of 22 is part of the state’s 100th graduation ceremony at the Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy.

Friends, family and past recruits gathered and reflected on the past.

Allan Young, Retired Firefighters Association: “Our first line of firefighting in the old days was probably no better than a garden hose.”

Now facilities are more advanced than ever.

Katarina Carroll, Commissioner Queensland Fire and Emergency Services: “There’s been a change in the equipment, in what the trucks do, the technology, the training. The job’s changed.”

And the standard is high.

Katarina Carroll, Commissioner at Queensland Fire and Emergency Services: “It’s extraordinarily a comprehensive recruiting process and obviously a very, very comprehensive process throughout the academy. So it’s tough, it’s tough to get in and obviously we’ll choose the best.”

Graduating at all is an honour for recruits a day many have long dreamt of.

Now that the ceremony is over, graduates can get back to work, dedicating themselves to communities around Queensland.

Kate Lavrencic, QUT News.