The Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue held a momentous promotional and oath of office ceremony on Thursday.

The department welcomed its third deputy chief — a new position with a familiar face — and brought 13 new-to-Suffolk firefighters into the ranks.

“I’m just bubbling over with excitement today,” Chief Cedric Scott said.

The new deputy chief, Franklin T. Adams, is approaching his 29th anniversary with the department. He will be responsible for operations.

Adams said Thursday that he was hooked after a friend got him into the job, and it continues to this day.

“Even 30 years into it, I’m still looking for things to increase my knowledge of the job,” Adams said.

Adams began his career in March 1987 and graduated from Tidewater Community College with an associate degree in fire science in 1995. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1999, captain in 2001 and battalion chief in 2003.

Adams also graduated from the Chief Officers Curriculum and the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy as well as the Suffolk Leadership Academy.

“It’s not every day you have the opportunity to promote someone to the rank of deputy chief,” Scott said during Thursday’s ceremony. “His role will be one of great importance. Chief Adams’ role is making sure the men and women not only get to work every day but get home every day.”

Suffolk’s other deputy chiefs are Brian Spicer, who oversees technical services, and James Dickens, who handles support services.

Also at the ceremony, 13 firefighters took the oath of office. Spicer said it was the first time the department had been able to conduct a hiring process since approximately 2011.

The department saved tens of thousands of dollars each by actively recruiting experienced firefighters from other jurisdictions, Scott said. Some of the firefighters were at the point in their careers they could retire from their previous employers and come to work for Suffolk.

“They’re already trained, and they’re ready to go,” Scott said, exhorting the new-to-Suffolk firefighters to represent themselves well. “We have a responsibility to carry this patch that we wear and to represent this city the best way that we know how.”

The firefighters will undergo an orientation and skills review before being placed on fire trucks and ambulances. The normal training process takes six to nine months.

Suffolk’s newest firefighters are Christopher Balassone, David Bell, Richard Blake, John Buttrick III, Anthony Clark, Ryan Council, Melanie Gray, Jonathan Guffey, Edward Kaczkowsky, David Matson, Troy Munday, Matthew Nixon and Christopher Rogers.