COVINGTON, Ga. - Newton County’s Fire Services has grown by 17 members this week.

The new fire service recruits began work Monday and will commence a 20-week training regiment, which will get them certified as Georgia EMT-Basic and as a NPQ-FF1 and NPQ-FF2. Along with 16 who are new to the county’s fire services, another firefighter moved from part-time to full-time status.

The new recruits, which will be divided upon three shifts, will enable Newton County to have more fire personnel on the scenes of emergencies to ensure all vital roles are filled.

“As the department continues to grow to help meet the growing needs of our citizens and the County, these 17 new recruits is the first step in being able to assure we as a department are able to meet these growing needs,” Newton County Fire Services Chief Michael Conner said.

The 17 new full-time firefighters give Newton County Fire Services a total of 84 employees.

“They will be welcomed into our ranks in the field to fill positions to assist the citizens of Newton County and our current staff,” Conner said.

Those new hires include Mitchell Smith, Adam Shelton, Matthew Waits, Jacob Frazier, Meredith Biles, Anthony Roy, Noah Green, Cody Cullen, Quenten Dalton, Brock Boldin, Bradley Free, Kyle Strange, Cody Madsen, Jeremy Williams, Dorean Generals, Clay Hayno and Austin Lindsey.