Monroe County Fire Rescue graduated its fifth “Hot Shots” class on Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. Class 22-01 includes 27 qualified men and women on their way to become career or volunteer firefighters. The graduates successfully completed 456 hours of intensive classroom and rigorous practical training over the past 3.5 months.
Twenty-two of the students are residents of Monroe County. The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners continues to support the program that waives the $2,200 tuition fee for qualified Monroe County residents in exchange for a commitment to volunteer or work as a career firefighter anywhere in the Florida Keys for three years.
“We are excited to see these students graduate from our Monroe County Fire Academy Hot Shots Program and look forward to them serving in the Florida Keys community in the future,” said Interim Fire Chief RL Colina.
The graduates completed the 17 performance objectives of the firefighter program and are prepared to take the State of Florida Firefighter II examination. To be hired at Monroe County Fire Rescue, a candidate must also complete EMT training.
Graduates include Samantha Blyer, Jamie Boan, Adrian Castro, Roberto Costa, Jordan Duran, Alberto Figueroa, Ariel Gonzalez, David Gonzalez, Samuel Gonzalez (Class Leader), Victor Hernandez, Stephen Jones, David Linville, Alejandro Lopez, Amanda Marcotte, Cole McDaniel, Aaron Moore, Logan Pellicier, Melissa Ramirez, Kaitlyn Ritter, Leylah Rodriguez, Harold Roman, Christian Ruiz, Justin Stankiewicz, Sierra Temple, Mason Thompson, Steven Torna, and Camren Watson.
There are no new classes scheduled at this time at the training academy. More information about the “Hot Shots” program can be found at www.monroecounty-fl.gov/hotshots or email Johnson-Cara@monroecounty-fl.gov.







Deering Estate
Massage Envy South Miami
Calla Blow Dry
My Derma Clinic
Sports Grill
The Healthy Kitchen
Sushi Maki
Golden Rule Seafood
Malanga Cuban Café

Kathleen Ballard
Panter, Panter & Sampedro
Vintage Liquors
The Dog from Ipanema
Rubinstein Family Chiropractic
Your Pet’s Best
Indigo Republic


ATR Luxury Homes


2112 Design Studio
Hamilton Fox & Company
Creative Design Services
Best Pest Professionals
HD Tree Services
Trinity Air Conditioning Company
Cisca Construction & Development
Mosquito Joe
Cutler Bay Solar Solutions


Miami Royal Ballet & Dance
Christopher Columbus
Pineview Preschools
Westminster
Carrollton
Lil’ Jungle
Frost Science Museum
Palmer Trinity School
South Florida Music
Pinecrest Orthodontics
Dr. Bob Pediatric Dentist
d.pediatrics


South Miami Women’s Health

The Spot Barbershop
My Derma Clinic




Miami Dance Project

Rubinstein Family Chiropractic
Indigo Republic

Safes Universe
Vintage Liquors
Evenings Delight





Atchana’s Homegrown Thai
Baptist Health South Florida

Laser Eye Center of Miami
Visiting Angels
OpusCare of South Florida



Your Pet’s Best

HD Tree Services
Hamilton Fox & Company

Creative Design Services


