Peachtree City Fire Department's current volunteer recruitment drive has two goals: lower fire insurance premiums for residents, and national accreditation.

What is accreditation all about?

"The International Association of Fire Chiefs and the International City/Council Management Association implemented National Fire Service Accreditation in January 1997, after 10 years of development," explained Capt. Stony Lohr, accreditation manager for the department.

"Accreditation provides objectives and a yardstick by which to measure the performance of the department, and better insures that the department is providing those services," he said.

Only 14 fire departments have earned national accreditation, none in Georgia. At present, just over 100 departments are trying for accreditation nationwide, three of them awaiting final approval, none in Georgia.

In Georgia, 28 agencies have begun the self-assesment and 18-month completion time clock. Columbus is the first Georgia fire departemnt to reach this status out of 200 agencies registered in the national accreditation system. Eighteen of the registered agencies are from Georgia, Pechtree City, Columbus and 16 others.

The reason for the stepped-up recruitment and training campaign in Peachtree City is twofold, according to Capt. Ed Eiswerth, department operations officer.

"It's a lot of work, but we're trying to get our ISO [Insurance Services Office] rating down from [Class] 4 to [Class] 3," Eiswerth said. "That requires manpower." Most homeowners will see an immediate reduction in annual insurance premiums when that happens.

"And it's also toward the goal of accreditation," Eiswerth added. "The city has asked us to be nationally accredited. The accreditation process asks 1,000 questions, and you must be able to answer yes to all of them."

Meanwhile, the department will continue to build the supporting infrastructure for accreditation, to include computers, computer networks, a management information system, a new 911 dispatch system, and a geographic information system for mapping and analysis.

"Some people think of the fire department as firefighters just lounging around waiting for a fire," Lohr remarked. "Some may think of its ambulance service.

"But few think of other programs such as Fire Prevention/Life Safety, public education, fire investigation, technical rescue, hazardous materials, or Emergency/Disaster Management."

Technical rescue, Lohr said, includes vehicle extrication, confined space rescue and high angle rescue, such as that executed so flawlessly by Atlanta firefighter Matt Moseley 10 days ago. "The department provides each of these programs," Lohr said. "Each must undergo an assessment, be compared against the city's risk analysis, and have performance objectives approved by the community. The department must provide and document that it provides these objectives.