The job can be difficult, dangerous and unpredictable. The hours can be long.

And nobody ever became rich being a firefighter.

However, as Rome City Commissioner Duane Reid said during Monday night’s graduation ceremony for the latest rookie class of the Rome-Floyd County Fire Department, it is “a noble and honorable profession,” and that’s why the 12 members of the graduating class were both proud and humbled to take part in their commencement.

The latest crop of rookies just completed a six-week training course, and now they will combine field work at various stations with more time in the training class as they begin their careers as firefighters.

During Monday’s ceremony at the Rome Civic Center, Fire Chief Gordon Henderson said the graduation from training class was just the first step in a career in firefighting.

“Tonight marks another new start for you,” he told the dozen members of the class, clad in their light blue uniform shirts. “You will now take the camaraderie you have gained as a class in training to the stations where you will work. There, you will continue your training — really, you’ll never stop. I am still learning things every day.”

One of the rookies, Daniel Dodd, said becoming a firefighter was not a difficult choice — it’s something he’s thought about since he was a child.

“I guess it just came naturally because I always looked up to (firefighters),” Dodd said.

Training Chief Curt Pierson said over the years the training and requirements for becoming a firefighter have gotten more challenging, and that has led to an even better quality of firefighters.

“We changed our pre-employment physical agility test with this class, and we made the testing a lot tougher,” he added. “So these guys coming in the door are in excellent shape. Between a pre-employment written test, a background check, medical exams and physical training, this group is really the cream of the crop.”

Pierson said more than 300 applications were submitted for the 12 positions, and the final group that graduated Monday was a diverse group ranging in age from 19 to 47. He said it’s a rewarding experience for veteran fire officials to work closely with rookies during their initial training.

“It means a lot to take somebody with no experience and train them from the ground up,” Pierson said.

The rookie class took their oath of office from Henderson and received their certificates, badges and ID cards from the fire department executive staff. There were four individual accolades issued as well, with Daniel Atkins earning the Academic Award, Devin Porter earning the Top Rookie Award, Donald Bullard earning the Chief’s Award and Dodd earning the Physical Fitness Award.