Austell Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) responds to approximately 1,250 calls per year and employs 21 full-time personnel and 10 part-time personnel. Operations personnel work 24 hour shifts and are off duty for 48 hours. The department has two stations and a training center.
Station 1 is located at 5890 Mulberry Street, Austell, GA 30168 and is staffed by a Lieutenant, an Engineer, and a Firefighter. The Lieutenant is the officer in charge for this station and handles daily duty assignments for station 1 personnel. Engine 1 is housed at this station and is an Advanced Life Support (ALS) engine. This means that there is a certified Paramedic on duty to perform advanced lifesaving skills and the ability to administer lifesaving medications. Station 1 is the older of the two stations, having served the City of Austell since 1982.
Station 2, built in 2003, is the headquarters for the fire department and is located at 5300 Austell Powder Springs Road, Austell, GA 30106. Station 2 is staffed by a Captain, an Engineer, and a Firefighter. The Captain is in charge of all operations personnel on duty that day. Fire Department Administration is located at this station which includes the Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, and Fire Marshall's office. Station 2 houses Engine 2, the reserve fire engine, two support vehicles, and a rescue boat. Engine 2 is also an ALS engine and equipped almost identically to Engine 1. In the event that one of the fire engines must be taken out of service, the department maintains a reserve fire engine. All engines are equipped to handle multiple types of incidents. Some of these incidents include but are not limited to fires, technical rescues, motor vehicle collisions, and medical incidents. The two support vehicles are utilized for transporting the rescue boat, training, inspections, investigations, and other fire department business. As a result of the flood of 2009, the department purchased a rescue boat. AFES personnel are trained in boat handling and swift water rescue.
The AFES training center is located at 343 Thread Mill Parkway, Austell, GA 30106. It consists of a three story burn building where firefighters can practice firefighting skills with live fire conditions and a classroom for lectures and instruction. It also consists of elevated platforms for high angle rescue training. The training center allows for personnel to practice vital skills which include fire suppression, fire hose advancement, search and rescue, ladder placement, forcible entry, water supply, ventilation, extrication, rope rescue, incident command and more. This facility is not only utilized by AFES but also by neighboring fire departments, and fire/EMS educational partners on a regular basis. It has also been utilized by an annual firefighter conference on multiple occasions. Firefighters from all over the country attend the conference.
Austell Fire and Emergency Services extends a special thank you to the citizens of Austell for the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). The SPLOST has provided the funds to purchase all current apparatus as well as a major portion of the AFES training center. Without these funds, it would be extremely difficult to maintain the most current and technologically advanced fire and rescue apparatus.