The Mattapoisett Fire Department officially welcomed four new firefighters into the fold on Wednesday as Rebecca Smith, Ned Kaiser, Sam Hill, and Hayden Vieira graduated from the Call/Volunteer Firefighter Training Class #43 on Wednesday.

The new recruits spent 320 hours in the classroom, not including study time and practice, said Mattapoisett Fire Chief Andrew Murray.

Since mid-January, the trainees have spent nights and weekends learning the many aspects of the job, including rescuing someone trapped in a building and hazardous material training.

“It pretty much gets them ready for the real world,” said Murray.

The department currently has 28 on-call firefighters and two full-time employees. Each year, Murray screens applications for new recruits.

Murray said, “I currently have over 20 applications. This is the first time in the history of Mattapoisett Fire Department that we actually have a waiting list.”

He added that retaining firefighters can be a challenge.

The training, he said, “is all you need for a full-time position. They get offered full-time jobs elsewhere.”

Since January, the four new firefighters have also had training with the fire department, although they have had limited duties until graduation.

Rebecca Smith, who works full-time as a chemist, said, “I was definitely surprised at the extent of the training. It’s a lot more than fighting fires. You learn every facet of the fire department.”

Smith said she’s wanted to be a firefighter for a while.

“Helping someone on the worst day of their life – to be able to make a difference is a really good feeling,” she said.

Murray said all of the new firefighters did well in the training program. Smith, in particularly, took home the award for being first in the class.

“Mattapoisett has received that award two years in a row,” said Murray. “Not only [Smith] but all four of them will compliment this department very well.”