Five new Papillion firefighters will be sworn in Tuesday night. Officials hope a scandal last fall is behind them and the department can move on.

The scandal rocked the fire department. Two longtime firefighters were demoted and an entire recruit class disqualified when it was discovered certain candidates were provided answers to a written test.

The sign outside of town reads 17,703, but when the fire truck rolls out in Papillion they service an area of about 43,000 people. The department has grown with the area over the years from a volunteer force to what is now called a combination fire department with 40 career firefighters and eight volunteers.

The department is proud of its tradition. "It’s kind of a neat combination we have now,” said Papillion Fire Chief Bill Bowes. “We have 10-year veterans with strong ties to Papillion and new firefighters from outside the Omaha vicinity. They understand the small town feel, the importance. A lot of them have volunteer experience so they bring that with them.”

The department’s tradition and trust were in trouble with the cloud hanging over the department. “We're called when someone has an emergency, we have to be considered trustworthy by them and to have that trust violated, we wanted to restore that trust.”

Chief Bowes is hoping the new guys who wear the Papillion fire gear will restore that trust. They will have to as there’s a lot of pressure on the new firefighters. "I think they're aware of the eyes that are watching them just because of when it was they got hired and the process they came through.”

Chief Bowes is confident the new firefighters can handle any pressure and he’s sure Papillion’s fine tradition in firefighting will continue. The new firefighters all have previous firefighting experience and will start with an annual salary of $39,099.