Firefighter Graduates Fire Academy

On June 4th, Firefighter Nick Piccard graduated from the fire academy held at The Gun Lake Casino Public Safety Department. Along with his classmates from Gun Lake Public Safety and other Allegan County Fire Departments, Nick spent many weekends and weeknights learning the basic techniques of firefighting, HazMat, and vehicle extrication.

This past 12 months has been a busy time for Nick. He finished EMT school in late 2025 and started the fire academy in January of 2026. He now joins our roster as a certified Firefighter 1&2 with HazMat Operations. In the picture below, Nick takes a moment to reflect on what he just learned in auto-extrication training.

Pictured below is Nick receiving his new badge from Chief DenBleyker.

Below is Nick with Chief DenBleyker and Deputy Chief Capel after the ceremony. The Gun Lake Tribe provided refreshments for the ceremony in a lower level conference room.

Just days after he finished his last exam, Nick was a part of the crew when a travel trailer caught fire on the freeway. He spent some time on the nozzle and assisted with cleanup before we left.

The Graafschap Fire Department would like to congratulate Nick on what we hope to be a long and meaningful career.