The Seminole County Fire Department Welcomes 17 New Members in Class 23-03

(Seminole County, Fla.) – The Seminole County Fire Department recently celebrated the graduation of 17 new probationary Firefighters in Class 23-03. The graduation was held at CrossLife Church in Oviedo and Assistant Chief/B Shift Commander Bryon Chaney delivered the keynote address. SCFD Chaplain Kevin Matlock of CrossLife Church is a retired SCFD Firefighter. Class leader was Firefighter Caitlin Knoppe. Special guests included firefighter therapy dog Winston and his mom Erin of Chuluota.
 
Half of the graduates grew up in Seminole County and/or currently reside in Seminole County. Six of the graduates continued the tradition in following in their family’s footsteps in the fire service and the class also includes many first-generation firefighters. In addition, there were two brothers in the recruit class – Aaron and Luke Sambeli. SCFD was also proud to have two military veterans in the class, Jorge Graciani, who is a U.S. Airforce veteran and Cody Dreher, U.S. Marine veteran.
 
“Being a member of the Fire Department is not just a profession, it’s a calling,” said Seminole County Fire Chief Matt Kinley. “We are here for those in their greatest time of need and we will never ever forget this commitment to public service. On behalf of SCFD, welcome to an experienced, progressive and growing department. There are endless opportunities for you here.”
 
New Seminole County Fire Department personnel from Class 23-03 include:
 
A Shift
 

• Samantha Finnegan

• Sergio Leyte-Vidal  

• Ethan Soria

• Johnathan Cotto

• Evarius Daverman  

• Brooke Davis

• Noah Getty   

• Ryan Gillis

• Aaron Sambeli

• Luke Sambeli

• Ethan Czajkowski

• Cody Dreher

• Jorge Graciani

• Fisher Greene

• Aden Hohman

• Caitlin Knoppe

• Justin Manna