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Chatham County proclaims October domestic violence awareness month and Fire Prevention Week
Summary
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 3 read and adopted proclamations designating October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and as Fire Prevention Week, with remarks from local nonprofit and fire officials.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 3 proclaimed October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and proclaimed Fire Prevention Week in the county.
Suzanne Cooler, president of the board of Safe Shelter Savannah, accepted the domestic-violence proclamation and told commissioners the issue is widespread in the county. "Last year alone in our community in Chatham County, we had over 6,000 domestic disturbance calls to police," Cooler said, adding that the organization and its partners aim to expand survivor support and education.
Dr. Karen Denise Austin, CEO and founder of For the Jewel and You, described a 12-week collaboration called The Shield, an upcoming survivor support program that will begin Oct. 18 and operate with participating local agencies and the Savannah Police Department.
For the Fire Prevention Week proclamation, Chatham County Fire Chief Vickers noted this year’s theme is lithium-ion battery safety and said batteries are now a leading fire risk in homes and communities. "Lithium ion batteries...are in basically everything that we have out there...It is definitely one of the fastest growing fire risk for communities as well as fire services," Chief Vickers said.
Chairman Chester A. Ellis read the proclamations into the record and directed the seal of Chatham County be affixed for each.
