2008 Strategic Plan for Gilmer County Emergency Services
When the General Obligation Bond ("G.O. Bond") was approved by the voter in November of 2006, it was directly tied to a document of proposed Capital Improvements that was available for public review at the Commissioner's Office. Within this plan was the construction of a new fire headquarters and 10 fire or EMS stations (11 total new stations), as well as 11 remote location water tanks. Recently, the Board of Commissioners has requested that this plan be revisited to provide the best efficiency in the aspects of cost of operation, cost of implementation, and response times for emergency response. The effort for a revised strategic plan has been informally completed by Post 2 Commissioner Mark Chastain, Emergency Services Director Robert Webber, EMS Director Leslie Marshall, and Fire Chief Tony Pritchett. The end result is a plan that will better protect the citizens of Gilmer County for many years and without undue strain on property tax revenue, and will also save most citizens thousands of dollars in insurance premiums. The following is a synopsis of Phase One of the new strategic plan, which reduces the cost of the plan to 3 new manned "hub" stations, 2 new volunteer stations, and a new headquarters station (6 total new stations).
One thing that is common between the two plans is the need for a new headquarters station. The current headquarters station (station 1) is located at the Civic Center and will be demolished for renovations and expansions of the recreation facility. The existing facility is also sorely undersized and in need of extensive renovations were it to remain in service. The location also proves cumbersome for most emergency responses, since most calls must be ran through town and congested intersections. The new location will be in the vicinity of the intersection of Highway 515 and Eller Road. With the completion of Eller Road and the planned Howard Simmons Road, this will provide excellent response time to the retail center in East Ellijay, upper Yukon Road area, Old Highway 5 South, Highway 382, and Coosawattee River Resort. The new headquarters station will combine fire and EMS (emergency medical services) personnel and vehicles.
Station 9 at 5752 Yukon Road will continue to be manned 24/7 by a firefighter. The success of this station for some of that area's residents has been inspirational for the development of the new strategic plan. Dan Meadows, a retired school employee, was pleasantly surprised to find that the existence of the station meant a $1,200 reduction in his annual homeowner's insurance premium. As the new stations are built and staffed, this savings may be available to other residents within 5 miles of a manned station. An additional benefit will be the enhanced ability to deliver water to structure fires, via our growing tanker system. One goal of 2008 is to provide that all full time firefighters are also EMT certified. This will greatly reduce response time for medical emergencies.
A new station is planned on Whitepath Road adjacent to the railroad tracks. This station is planned to be staffed by a single firefighter/EMT like Station 9 (Yukon Road). Immediate response coverage from this station will include the Whitepath Golf Course community, Cherry Log, Turniptown, Boardtown, and north Ellijay via Hwy 515.
A new station is planned off Highway 52 East at the intersection of Big Creek Road. This station is planned to be staffed by an ambulance crew initially. Another goal for 2008 is that one of the two EMTs on each ambulance also be trained and certified as a firefighter. Therefore, this station should provide similar insurance savings to the residents in Cartecay as those on Yukon Road. In the event of a fire, the firefighter EMT would drive a fire engine to the fire. The other EMT would either drive the ambulance or a tanker to the fire. This ambulance would be relocated from the current Cartecay fire station #2 at 9585 Highway 52 East. Due to the fact that station 2 is almost 10 miles from town, the ambulance currently in this station is constantly being moved to town when the 2 ambulances at station 1 are busy. Being that the new station location is approximately 5 miles from town, the ambulance should be left in the station more often, available for rapid response for Cartecay or town. This station will most notably be able to provide rapid response to all of the Cartecay region including Big Creek Road, Roy Road (by virtue of the Holt Bridge due to reopen soon), Clear Creek Road, and Highway 52 East. By having direct access to Parks Drive, this station will also be able to serve Lower Cartecay Road and Blackberry Mountain Road. This ability will provide rapid response for River's Edge and Blackberry Mountain developments through the back gate (thus avoiding the bridge over the Cartecay River) and also as a "second-in" apparatus for the new Clear Creek Middle School.
The third and final planned manned station will be in the vicinity of the intersection of Hwy 282 and Old Tails Creek Road. The initial plan is to move one of the ambulances stationed at the civic center to this new station, and thus staff it similar to the new station at Highway 52 and Big Creek Road. This station will provide quicker response times to the west side of the county including Tails Creek, Mountaintown, etc., as well as being able to also cover Ellijay and East Ellijay when personnel from Station 1 are on other calls. One key advantage to this location from a firefighting perspective is that apparatus responding to fires will avoid the 2 mile climb going out of town from the Dairy Queen intersection. It is also important to note that the City of Ellijay has a new fire station next to city hall that is well equipped and staffed with one or two firefighters on a 24/7 basis. The city and county fire departments recently have been working very well together. A formal automatic mutual aid agreement is hopefull for the near future. This would benefit the insurance ratings of city and county residents that are within response distances of the city station and one or more of the staffed county stations.
New stations that are to be built and equipped but not staffed full time are located on Old Hwy 5 south in the Bodie Road area, and in the Bucktown area along Roy Road. The property for the old highway 5 south property has been acquired. The commissioners are interested in acquiring property in the Bucktown area for the new station. These 2 new stations, though not manned, will provide a better service level and hopefully insurance ratings to these areas of the county that are currently more than 5 miles from any station.
In addition to the new stations, the county fire department has acquired various additional apparatus and trucks that will benefit both the response effectiveness and insurance ratings. In 2005, the county acquired a used 100' ladder truck from Gwinnett County. Since then, the truck has been mechanically refurbished and is in service. It is currently housed at station 9, but will be moved to the new station one when completed. The county has also acquired 5 new Kenworth pumper/tankers that are currently in service at various stations. These trucks are "class A" pumpers with all typical hose, ladders, air packs, and other tools and equipment of a typical pumper, and they carry 2,000 gallons of water. The county is also in the process of purchasing a new 3,000 gallon tanker. Water delivery, in lieu of hydrants on county water, is a crucial need in Gilmer County for both fire fighting activities and insurance ratings.
As soon as the new stations are built, equipped, and staffed, the fire department plans to request a reevaluation by ISO (the organization that does fire insurance ratings). With the planned improvements to the fire department, it is certain to improve fire insurance ratings throughout most of the county. This will save the county citizens and business owners many thousands of dollars annually in homeowners and property insurance.