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Fire chief frames Station 4 as priority after data show Sandy Springs apparatus often dispatched into Atlanta territory
Summary
Fire Department data presented at the workshop showed Sandy Springs apparatus responded to hundreds of calls inside Atlanta’s Station 39 district; staff argued for building a city station to reduce out-of-jurisdiction commitments and maintain ISO response standards.
Fire Chief Sanders (presenting on behalf of the department) told the council that Sandy Springs apparatus responded to a meaningful number of incidents inside the Atlanta Station 39 district during 2021–2024, and that the city’s trucks are sometimes assigned to Atlanta calls because Atlanta apparatus have priority within that station’s boundary.
Chief Sanders said Atlanta Fire Station 39 houses Atlanta apparatus but that the engine and other units based there have been staffed in a way that gives Atlanta priority dispatch within a purple-outlined district on the department’s map. As a result, Sandy Springs engines assigned to that location can be dispatched to Atlanta calls and be committed away from Sandy Springs—sometimes for extended periods—creating coverage gaps at home.
Staff presented response-time and incidence heat maps showing concentrations of calls along Roswell Road and Peachtree Dunwoody, and said those data support locating a new Station 4 in the Roswell Road corridor south of I-285 to reduce response times and protect Sandy Springs ISO ratings. The chief noted that Atlanta’s presence in Station 39 has helped Atlanta avoid building and staffing a full station inside City of Sandy Springs limits for years, but it comes at the cost of Sandy Springs’ available apparatus.
Cost and next steps: staff discussed a concept estimate for a new fire station including a per‑square‑foot construction estimate the presentation credited to an outside firm; Eden said staff is actively pursuing potential sites and planned a special closed session on property matters to brief council on a prospective location. Councilmembers asked whether hospitals or other partners had space and how an MRU (medical response unit) or smaller resource might supplement coverage; the chief said state law and paramedic scope limit what facility staff can do in place of paramedics and that a staffed MRU could be considered as part of Station 4 planning.
Why it matters: the presentation linked resource commitments into Atlanta territory with potential coverage gaps and recommended council consider prioritizing a new station in capital planning to maintain service-level and ISO performance.
