The City of Sandy Springs Fire Rescue Department celebrates its fifth anniversary on December 29, 2011.
In its short existence, the City of Sandy Springs has gone above and beyond creating a Fire Rescue Department that not only fights fires and ensures the public’s safety, but also has become a pillar in the community providing training and educational events. Among the events the department hosts are CPR/AED training, car seat installation training, high rise safety training, CERT fire safety education programs, fire station birthday parties and child seat safety training.
“In just five short years, the Sandy Springs Fire Rescue Department has become one of the premier fire departments in the country. Under the leadership of Chief Jack McElfish, the department has won numerous awards and enjoys tremendous support from the community,” said City Manager John McDonough. “With its primary focus on saving lives and outstanding customer service, the department is considered a leading example in providing top notch services.”
“We have a tremendous Fire Rescue Department, full of individuals that honestly care about the people and the City they serve,” McElfish said. “It means the world to us that the community values our service and we respect them for it.”
The Sandy Springs Fire Rescue Department provides fire, medical emergency and other services to over 93,000 residents. The department operates out of four stations staffed with fire rescue technicians and the lastest state of the art equipment. Many of the fire rescue technicians are emergency medical services (EMS) certified and each station is staffed with at least one crew chief and paramedic.
One of the department’s major accomplishments is the recent Class 3 rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), Inc. for its fire suppression delivery system. The department receives an average of 12,000 calls for service each year. The high mark places Sandy Springs in the top 5 percent of departments in the country. The Class 3 rating will result in substantial cost savings in insurance premiums for the nearly $4.7 billion in insurable property in the City of Sandy Springs.
“We are extremely proud of our highly professional fire rescue department. It is an amazing success that the department has been able to garner an insurance rating of 3, which is among the highest in the nation. This has the effect of keeping our fire insurance rates affordable,” said Mayor Eva Galambos.
“Moreover, the department has applied all the most modern and progressive techniques and equipment to handle cardiac arrests and other medical emergencies to best serve our businesses and residents. They are the finest!”
“It is such an honor to me and my department that the Mayor and Council continue to provide us with the funding and resources to do our job especially in these economic times– it provides us a tremendous ability to carry out our mission of “Outstanding Service by Outstanding People,” said Sandy Springs Fire Rescue Chief Jack McElfish.
Some of the Sandy Springs Fire Rescue Department’s other notable achievements include:
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Sandy Springs Fire Rescue Department was selected to receive the American Heart Association’s 2011 American Heart Association “Mission Award.” The honor is presented in recognition of dedication and contribution to the core mission of the American Heart Association. The department was recognized for identifying new methods to help educate the community in life-saving CPR.
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Named one of the nation’s 2010 “America’s Crown Communities” for being a Heart Safe City.
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Sandy Springs Fire Rescue Department was named a Heart Safe Community by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
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Sandy Springs Fire Rescue Department became the first prehospital department in the metro Atlanta area to use the LUCAS™ 2 Automated CPR device.
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Implemented pilot program to provide ‘hypothermia’ or cooling treatment to cardiac arrest patients.
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In 2010, the department conducted over 425 community events with more than 136,000 participants.
Originally Published: Tuesday, January 03, 2012