DeKalb Fire Department History

The DeKalb County Fire Department was established in 1975. Originally the Department had five substations located in rural communities across DeKalb County. Since then we have added six more substations serving a total of eleven communities and 12,615 people in the Center Hill Lake area of about 322 square miles. We are an agressive rural fire department consisting of many members of whome some have recieved training: EMT, First Responder, Extrication Specialist, Wildland Taskforce, and CPR/AED certifications.

We are continuously recruiting volunteers who are willing to make a serious commitment to serving their community. We operate four class A pumpers, three pumper/tanker combinations, three mini-pumpers, one 3,000 gallon tanker, and one equipment/First Response vehicle. We have an ISO rating of 9.

Our Department has organized the Center Hill Wildland Task Force. We now have equipment and training specifically gear for fighting fire in the wildland urban interface that has become so common in the Center Hill Lake area.

The DeKalb County Fire Department assumed vehicle extrication services int he beginning of 2007. Smithville Fire had been providing the service since 1985, responding to all calls in the city and county. According to Chief Green, DeKalb County Fire Department received a non-matching grant last Spring that provided the necessary tools and equipment for the Extrication Unit. "We received the equipment package in October, but have been training since the summer of 2005. We now have technicians certified in extrication techniques through the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads (TARS)."

The DeKalb County Fire Department's primary mission is to provide the most efficient and reliable fire protection service for all DeKalb County citizens on a non-discriminatory basis.

All firefighters are expected to participate in trainings, monthly meetings and community projects related to our tasks. The officers of the Department will assist local, state, and federal investigating agencies with fire incident investigations within our county.

The Department will strive to provide excellent public education programs for fire prevention and safety to schools, civic organizations and exhibition events.

The Department keeps on hand brochures, videos and other materials that are used to relate the importance of fire safety and prevention. Public exhibitions will continue to be used to allow the citizens to see the effectiveness and preparedness of the Department and become acquainted with the Department's operations and available equipment.

© 2011 DeKalb County Fire Dept