CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Sixteen new firefighters received their badges at Monticello High School on Thursday evening, marking the end of the Albemarle County Fire Rescue’s annual Recruit School, which began in January.

This year’s recruit school was also notable as it was the first one under ACFR Chief David Puckett, who assumed the role in January after working at the department since 1998.

“I like to think that Recruit School 26 and I have a special connection,” Puckett said in his keynote address. “They began recruit school just four days after I was appointed as Chief. So, we both began a recruit school of sorts six months ago.”

The graduation ceremony not only marked a major milestone for the 16 recruits, but also another important step as ACFR continues to fill out its ranks. The effort comes following an $82,777 third-party study of the both ACFR and the Albemarle County Police Department done by Emergency Services Consulting International last October.

That study determined both departments face staffing issues.

ACFR considers itself fully stuffed with 207 full-time employees. Currently, there are four openings that are expected to be filled from upcoming Recruit Schools. The 2027 county budget does not create any new positions.

“The ESCI staffing study provides a long-term roadmap for strengthening Albemarle County Fire Rescue’s operational and administrative capacity,” department spokesperson Reagan Samuels told Cville Right Now. “ACFR has begun implementing the study’s recommendations, including a comprehensive workload analysis to identify opportunities to improve efficiency in administrative processes.”

Samuels noted that Albemarle County assigned a dedicated Human Resources Manager to support both ACFR and ACPD, and established a standalone Office of Emergency Management, which reports to the County Executive, “to strengthen coordination and preparedness. ”

In addition, ACFR has applied for grants to fund additional positions.

“By leveraging digital marketing, targeted advertising, community outreach, and recruitment events, the department attracted 134 applicants for its January 2026 recruit school and hired 24 firefighters,” Samuels said.

When it comes to what ACFR is looking for in potential firefighters, Deputy Chief Heather Childress said she looks for good people first and foremost.

“I don’t need you to have any technical ability,” she said.
”I need people with a heart for service that understand what our values and the county values mean. And so, I can teach anybody how to take a blood pressure and how to get water out of a fire truck. I can’t teach you to be a good person.”

While the next Recruit School won’t begin until the New Year, ACFR will begin accepting applications from July 13 though August 16. The hiring timeline, which includes a written test, physical agility test and interviews leading up to job offers being sent out in November, is available online at workforacfr.com.

One of the suggestions made by the ESCI’s report was to add a second recruit school during the year, which received support from the board.

Samuels said ACFR evaluates its Recruit School plans on an annual basis.

For now, Recruit School 26 will move on to their field training period, responding to real calls in order to prove they can apply the knowledge they’ve learned in their training.

Childress said the department is beyond excited to get their 16 newest firefighters out into the field.

“Making those job offers and then seeing them go through the six months of recruit school and make it to today, those are my 2 favorite days of the year,” she said. “So, I always look forward to this.”