THOMASVILLE FIRE RESCUE STAFF RETURNS TO STATION TWO

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Thomasville Fire Rescue staffThomasville Fire Rescue is set to reopen fire station two after it was closed for renovations earlier this summer. TFR firefighters, Thomas County Fire Rescue firefighters and Thomas County EMS staff began staffing station two from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm on September 26th. While the final renovations are being completed, TFR staff will continue to have overnight accommodations at station one. Renovations are expected to be completed by mid-October and station two will then return to being manned 24 hours a day. TFR will host an Open House in mid to late October for the community to see the newly renovated station.

“The Open House will give our community a chance to come out, learn fire safety prevention tips, see some demonstrations, learn what it takes to work in the fire service and see the repairs that have been completed at station two,” said Tim Connell, Fire Marshall. “It will also be a time when our community can come together to meet our local firefighters, Thomasville Police Department officers and Thomas County EMS staff.”

Fire station two serves not only TFR’s training facility, but is also recognized as a state training facility as well. “Station two has been recognized as a Bluecard Training facility and was the first in the state of Georgia to achieve this distinction,” said Chris Bowman, Fire Chief. “This means that our local fire station is an incident command training site that is recognized nationally and internationally by the fire service. It is endorsed by the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFF), the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA), and the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE).”

Bowman said that because of station two’s importance as a state and national training facility, it was crucial that the needed repairs to the facility be completed as quickly as possible so that the South Pinetree station could be returned to service. In order to do this, it was necessary to temporarily reassign fire personnel to the centrally-located downtown fire station on Crawford Street.

“Station two was built in 1996 and was in desperate need of a new air conditioning unit and duct work,” he said. “Unfortunately, the failing system had caused a lot of damage in our ceiling that in turn impacted everything from ceiling tiles to electrical lines in the overhead lighting system. This damage had created unsafe conditions for our staff, so personnel were temporarily moved to station one until the repairs were completed.”

During the project’s construction, personnel responded to calls from station one, which allowed TFR to remain well within recommended guidelines for call response. Bowman said that personnel were re-assigned back to station two beginning on September 26th. “As can sometimes occur with construction projects, we found other repairs that were needed during the project to bring the facility up to current fire code,” Bowman said. “This delayed the completion of the renovation project, but we are completing the last phase over the next few weeks.”

The final phase of the project is the installation of a Plymovent System, for which a grant was received from the Firefighter Cancer Initiative. “This system helps create a safer environment for our fire personnel,” said Bowman. “Hazardous vehicle exhaust emissions in a fire station are a significant cancer health risk, so it is very important to eliminate this hazard from fire stations.” Installation of the Plymovent System began on Tuesday, September 24th and will be completed over the next several weeks.

Once the final stage of the renovation project is complete, attention will then turn to the Open House celebration for the community. “We are planning a day for the community to come out, have some fun, visit with Sparky the Fire Dog, learn about fire prevention and safety and see our station,” said Connell. “We can’t think of a better way to mark the end of several months of renovations and improvements.”

Plans for the Open House will be announced soon. For information, call 227-4099.


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