Greenville Fire/Rescue welcomes 14 to the force

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Greenville Fire/Rescue is welcoming 14 new people to its force and the department held a ceremony to honor the new members Friday.

All the new members are trained as firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

The 14 were selected out of 200 candidates. Friday’s ceremony signifies the end of a long journey in the academy. The members completed more than 800 hours of work to graduate.

“It’s an exciting time; a lot of new blood in the fire service,” Greenville Fire-Rescue Chief Carson Sanders said. “We have to renew all the time because people work their time and serve the city well and then they retire, and we get some fresh blood in there to pick things up and make sure we’re taking care of the citizens the way we want to.”

Greenville Fire-Rescue is a combination department, meaning all the personnel is trained as both firefighters and EMTs. Another group in training will graduate in about 18 months.