CLIFTON — Joseph Bennett had as good a day as any man could have on Friday. He got his job back as a firemen and his girlfriend said yes when he asked her to marry him.

"I couldn’t pass up the opportunity," he said after a brief swearing-in ceremony at City Hall.

The ceremony marked the return of 11 firefighters, including Bennett, who lost their jobs as part of city layoffs in March. Two lieutenants also regained their ranks after demotions. The oaths of office that were taken Friday also set the stage for the reopening of Fire Station 2 on Dumont Avenue this Sunday.

The job losses and demotions were part of a larger plan meant to help the city bridge a budget deficit in March of $8 million. A total of 41 municipal workers, including the firefighters, were cut at the time.

The Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association, Local 21 and the city agreed in April to terms that restored the fire department to its previous size of 140 from 128. Firefighters agreed to work without pay for two weeks, but they received a guarantee of no further layoffs for a year. Talks continue between the city and unions for other municipal employees.

On Friday, friends, colleagues and family members crammed into a conference room for the reinstatement. They applauded after the two lieutenants and 11 firemen retook the oaths of office. A twelfth firefighter was out of town and will take his oath when he returns.

The ceremony was followed by a few words from Fire Chief Joseph Verderosa, who expressed his happiness that the city and union had come to an agreement. Then Bennett had a few words of his own.

Bennett, 25, who will be deploy for his third tour of duty in Iraq as a Marine reservist next week, kneeled before Lisa Marie Latino, 25, of East Hanover. He asked for her hand. The room erupted in applause. The pair embraced and someone asked for her answer. "Yes! Yes!" she said.

Afterward, Latino said she had originally hoped for a private proposal. But, she said, "I could not think of any better way than how it happened today."

The congratulations showered on the newly engaged couple matched the feeling in the room.

"I’m ecstatic to be back helping people out," Salvatore Guardascione, 32, one of the dozen firemen who was laid off, said shortly before picking up his 10 week-old daughter, Amelia.

His wife, Kristie, said the two-month period he was out of work was stressful. Yet the two remained optimistic, she said, adding, "Thank God it’s over."

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