Newton County Fire Services members Skyler Blankenship, Richard Aaron, Dave Harper, Ashley Moss, Chris Fox, Noel Anson, Chris Barnes, Randy Monchrief and Steve Raulerson were among a group of heroes honored in Atlanta Tuesday evening.

Julio Lariet, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Emory University, called them the Tip of the Spear during his keynote address. They are first responders. The men and women who rush to the side of those who are in need of medical help after an accident, emergency or an incident in their home or their place of work.

Sometimes those EMS members, or the Tip of the Spear in medical care, become life savers.

During the 2017 Region III EMS Awards Banquet Tuesday, life savers from around the Metro Atlanta area were honored. Among those selfless men and women were the nine men from Newton County Fire Services.

Each were invited to the banquet, held at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, because they administered life-saving techniques to a patient who was under cardiac arrest. Without the quick response of Blankenship, Aaron, Harper, Moss, Fox, Anson, Barnes, Monchrief and Raulerson, some Newton County residents and visitors would not have walked away from their emergency.

In fact, Moss and Cox, had two cardiac arrest saves in 2016, something Newton County Fire Services Chief Michael Conner said he has only seen twice in his more than 30-year career.

“It is my honor as the Fire Chief to recognize these members of our department for their endless and dedicated service they provide to the citizens and visitors to our great county, and the department,” Conner said.

Newton County Fire Services currently has 24 members trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). In order to be a trained EMT, one must have three months of classroom studies and 36 hours of clinical training.

Including in that training is how to properly administer hemorrhages, administer CPR and operate a defibrillator. Those skills are critical in ensuring the recovery of someone who is in an emergency situation.

The Newton County Fire Services, which was formed in 1971, has around 60 members operating seven paid and one volunteer station, and serves an area consisting of more than 105,000 citizens.

For more information about Newton County, please visit www.ncboc.com, like Newton County, Ga on Facebook or follow @NewtonCounty on Twitter.