(New York-AP) -- The first class of fire department officers to complete a military course in terrorist tactics graduated at a City Hall ceremony today.

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta called the course an important part of the department's effort to prepare for possible future attacks on the city.

The class of 34 fire captains and officers spent 14 weeks studying scenarios such as a chemical attack in the subway system, the detonation of a 1-kiloton nuclear device on Wall Street and a shutdown of the city's water system.

The graduates will spend coming months developing recommendations for changes in fire department procedures that could help firefighters cope with an attack.

The fire department said it hopes to put two classes a year through the course.

The class was developed by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.