Busy year for Barrow firefighters

Despite high call volumes and several leadership changes, the department has continued to provide excellent service with response times below the national Advanced Life Support Standard.

“There were some good and some tough changes within Barrow County Emergency Services in 2009,” said interim chief John Skinner. “However there was one constant throughout the year, and that was the high quality service given to the citizens when they called for help. I am proud of the men and woman of this department. They are some of the highest quality and most dedicated people I have had the privilege of working with.”

In 2009, BCFES units were dispatched a total of 7,427 times. Of these calls, 6,073 were in response to medical emergencies including 979 motor vehicle collisions.
In the past year, there were 212 calls for structure fires, 59 vehicle fires, 90 woods fires, 41 gas leaks, 165 calls for downed trees and power lines as well as three plane crashes.

Barrow County Emergency Services fire units arrived on scene within an average of seven minutes and thirty nine seconds while ambulances arrived within five minutes and thirteen seconds. The national standard is eight minutes.

In order to continue providing safe, effective responses to emergencies, Barrow County fire and emergency personnel attended a total of 9,447 continuing education and training classes spending more than 25,285 hours improving their skills.

“The personnel of Barrow County Emergency Services took advantage of a lot of training that was offered by the department,” said deputy chief Bryan Bullock. “This shows the high level of dedication of this department in providing the best possible care to our citizens.”

In addition to responding to fires and medical emergencies, Barrow County emergency services personnel also man the county’s 911 center. Last year, communications officers handled 204,117 calls. All calls were dispatched in under two minutes, which is faster than the national average dispatch time.

At the end of the year, Barrow County Emergency Services E911 department had all positions filled with a total of 21 personnel. This included two in administrations and 19 Communication Officers. The Fire and Emergency Services Department had three administration positions that were filled and 76 full time line personnel leaving only two open positions in the department with two people in the hiring process to fill those positions. The Fire and Emergency Services Department also ended the year with 22 part time personnel. With the additional hirings, the department has been able to stay at budgeted staffing each day.

“Barrow County Emergency Services went through a lot of change in 2009. With three separate fire chiefs, pay cuts, staffing issues and other changes, the men and woman of this department continued to respond to the needs of Barrow County citizens,” Skinner said. “They have continued to provide the best services to its customers while helping me keep an eye on the budget. That is the most important thing I can ask for as the Interim Fire Chief.”