Fire Chief: Buckhead fire stations to be renovated or replaced by 2017 and one new station added

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Atlanta Fire Rescue Chief Kelvin Cochran Thursday night told members ofthe Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods that by 2017 the plan is to completelyreplace two of Buckhead’s fire stations, build a new fire station in thePeachtree Battle Road area and renovate Fire Stations 21 and 26, which isoutside Buckhead's borders but services southwest Buckhead.

Atlanta Fire Rescue Chief Kelvin Cochran

Cochran said the plans call for the renovation of stations 21 (on RoswellRoad in the Buckhead Village) and 23 in 2014, the complete replacement ofStation 26 in 2015—hopefully on its present site at the intersection of HowellMilll and Moores Mill roads—and the complete replacement of Station 27 in 2017.
Cochran said he realizes he needs to do a public relations job with thenorthwest Buckhead neighborhoods along Northside Drive and Mount Paranbecause of the major commitment those residents made a few years ago, raising$250,000 and a lot of sweat equity to refurbish Station 27, which is located atNorthside Drive and West Conway.
Cochran looked straight at Dist. 8 City Councilwoman Yolanda Adrean whenhe made that comment (who was nodding her head in agreement), because Adrean wasone of the residents much involved in that community effort before she was even a candidate for City Council.
Cochran said he also hopes Station 27 can be rebuilt on the site whereit is presently located or very close to that location.
The chief said the problem with fire stations that are 30 years old—asare most of them in the Buckhead area—is that they were built on very smalllots. Most of them do not have drive-through bays for the vehicles, which makesgoing in and out much more difficult—especially for the new larger trucks.

Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods board chairman Jim King, left,
talks with Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran before his presentation.   

Asked if a site had been identified for the new Peachtree Battle firestation, Cochran said it had not, but he hopes is can be located right in themiddle of the area, possibly near Peachtree Battle and Northside Drive. 
This was Cochran’s third meeting with BCN since first becoming firechief under Mayor Shirley Franklin. The purpose of the visit was to bring thecouncil members up to date with the fire department’s progress and futuregoals.
He said the department has experienced “tremendous accomplishments” inthe last three years under Mayor Kasim Reed and with the support of City Council.“We have been continuing in our pursuit of our vision in providing excellenceand prompt quality service,” Cochran said. 

He said there are six organizational prioritiesas part of department’s strategic plan and mission, including human resources,professional development, preparedness and response, public information andeducation, and facilities, equipment, supplies and technology.

In 2012, he said the department filled six newpositions in the training academy, which had been cut from 18 to 9 people in2009. 

“We hired two additional fire inspectors and oneassistant chief to special operations,” he said. “Our staffing levels are at a20-year high.”

He said there are 66 recruits in the academy atpresent. By June, Cochran said every fire truck and engine will have fourfirefighters every day of the year, which was one of their goals but has notbeen the case for several years. However,he said the department still has 52 vacancies.


“We’ve improved our fire standard of responsecoverage by 16 percent [and] our EMS response time by 5 percent,” he said.“Last year there were 44 people in Atlanta, that when firefighters were on thescene, they were breathless and pulseless. Because of our advanced life supportand partnership with Grady, they’re alive today.”

Chief Kelvin Cochran explains about the aged
firefighting fleet of the city of Atlanta. 

He also said the department last year rescued seven people who weretrapped when the fire personnel arrived, they delivered 80 babies and thedepartment did not lose a single firefighter in the line of duty.
He said Atlanta Fire Rescue has a “significantly aged fleet.” However,he reported that the plans are to add six new engines and five ladder trucks in2014. The department also is continuing to add new Emergency Medical Services(EMS) vehicles, which are SUVs, so that response times to medical emergenciescan be shortened and to reduce the need to roll out the large fire trucks forsuch incidents.
Cochran concluded by inviting the BCN members to participate in thisyear’s Citizen Fire Academy, which he said will be coming up in April. He saidit is a good way to learn just what the firefighters go through on the ;jobevery day.