The city will swear in its first female firefighter next week.
PERTH AMBOY -- The city will swear in its first female firefighter at a ceremony next week along with four other recruits, according to a statement from the city.
Arielle Bonilla, 24, will be the first in the city fire department's history to join the force, according to city officials. She recently finished serving five years in the U.S. Navy, which included three military operation deployments to the Middle East, they said. She served on the USS New York, a ship partially built of steel from the twin towers.
Bonilla, a graduate of Cardinal McCarrick High School, in South Amboy, received numerous decorations during her service.
At the ceremony on Monday, the city will also swear in Jordian Aquino, Luilly Gonzalez, Melvin Inoa, and Robert Velazquez Jr.
The ceremony will come just days after U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-Middlesex) announced that more than $1 million in federal funding would be made available to the Perth Amboy Fire Department.
Aquino, a graduate of Perth Amboy High School, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2011 to 2014. He served during Operation Enduring Freedom and received several awards during his service. He was a former supervisor at Crunch Fitness and is currently attending Thomas Edison University.
Gonzalez, a graduate of Perth Amboy High School who has an associates degree in mechanical engineering, has served in the U.S. Army National Guard since 2010 and is currently serving as a sergeant in the 508th Military Police Company.
Inoa, a graduate of Middlesex County College with a degree in criminal justice, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2012 as a military police officer and received several awards during his service.
Velazquez, a graduate of Perth Amboy High School, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008 and was an instructor for a scout sniper platoon, eventually achieving the rank of corporal. He served in Operation Enduring Freedom and received serval awards during his service.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.