Columbia County Fire Rescue describes expanded services, training and recruitment plans

Columbia County Fire Rescue officials described the department’s specialized teams, training standards, station network and recruitment process in an on-site interview at county fire headquarters.

Deputy Fire Chief Brent Willis said the department has raised medical training expectations for all staff and maintains multiple specialty teams to respond to hazards beyond structure fires. “Well, 1 of the things, that we've done is we require all of our personnel to be at a minimum of the EMT level, and we do have some personnel trained at the paramedic level,” Willis said.

The department requires over 200 hours of firefighter training per year and maintains specialty teams, Willis said, including a dive team for drownings, a swift-water rescue team for rivers and canals and a hazardous-materials response team. “Our special operations teams, they do require additional training and certification to operate,” Willis said. He also listed structural collapse, confined space and trench rescue capabilities.

Columbia County Fire Rescue operates 15 stations with an engine company at each location and said it is preparing to add two additional stations to meet county growth. “We have roughly 200 employees and several volunteers. We're covering 15 stations strategically placed throughout the county… we already are preparing to add 2 additional stations,” Willis said.

Two stations currently house ladder trucks in higher-population areas; an additional ladder truck has been ordered through SPLAS for the western portion of the county to support growth near the White Oak Industrial Complex. The department also maintains four smaller wildland-attack vehicles that accompany engines on vegetation fires.

The county is organized operationally into two battalions with a battalion chief on duty each shift, and six districts overseen by district captains who manage two to three stations each, Willis said. Routine nonemergency work includes annual hose testing and hydrant checks and outreach visits to businesses to update emergency contacts.

Willis described outreach and safety programs, including a car-seat safety program at Station 6 staffed by certified technicians and school visits typically conducted in October. He highlighted a recent ISO Class 1 rating, saying the rating is a community-wide assessment that can lead to lower homeowner insurance ratings because “they look at the water system… they look at our fire marshal's office. They look at all components of the county.”

On recruitment and training, Willis described the department's recruit school and career progression: new hires attend a firefighter academy and EMT program to earn Firefighter I and II and basic EMT certifications, then move into stations with mentors and a career matrix that outlines time-in-service and additional certification requirements for supervisory eligibility. Willis said the department's recruit academy schedule affects hiring: “it could be, you know, 3 to 6 months before we actually or longer before we pull applications depending on the time frame when the academy actually starts.”

For residents interested in applying or learning more, Willis provided a contact number and the county jobs website. “You can reach out to us. (706) 863-7745. We'll get you to the right person… and if you go to ColumbiaCountyGA.gov to the open jobs, the firefighter position is perpetually open,” he said.

The interview closed with a reminder that the department posts information on its social media accounts, including a Facebook page named Columbia County Fire Rescue and an Instagram account for the department.