Newton County firefighters deep fried 43 turkeys Wednesday for its newest fundraiser.

The Newton County Fire Services sold tickets for Cajun Deep Fried Turkeys recently, in order to raise money for the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program.

Several firefighters brought in their turkey fryers, lining up 10 burners and pots at the Newton County Fire Services Station No. 1, on the Covington Bypass, and began heating up oil early Wednesday morning.

With many experienced hands at cooking turkeys in deep fryers, multiple sets of eyes in Newton County Fire Services T-shirts kept a watchful eye on 10 turkeys cooking at a time. Each turkey was seasoned and injected with a Cajun spice mixture, before being cooked, wrapped in foil and picked up for Thanksgiving.

Kroger, Ingles and Food Depot helped out in supplying the turkeys, seasonings and pans and foil. Martin Stanley, of the Newton County Fire Services, said around $1,000 to $1,100 in profits were raised from the sale of the turkeys.

That money will go toward providing Christmas presents for the 100 children.

“We’re hoping it will help out so we can help as many children as we can,” Stanley said.

This is the first year the fire services have sold turkeys, and first-year Chief Jeff Monroe said he hopes to make it an annual event.