By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

It's Jack Krakeel Day in Fayette County.

Dignitaries from local, state and federal government agencies, including Georgia Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, will be on hand for a reception this afternoon honoring Fayette County's director of Fire and Emergency Services.

The reception will be 5-8 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex, with remarks by dignitaries at 6:30.

Krakeel recently was named Fire Chief of the Year by Fire Chief Magazine.

The award is based on nominations from national and state lvel fire services organizations, and Krakeel was nominated by the International Fire Chiefs Association, with members in the U.S. and Canada.

Along with Taylor, state fire marshal L.C. Cole and Charley English, director of operations for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, will be present.

Reportedly, GEMA will use the occasion to announce grants for construction of fire service facilities in Fayette, including funds to move fire station one out from under a dam.

Local officials have made no secret of their excitement at Krakeel's receiving the award, which reflects positively on the county and brings national attention.

The Fire Chief of the Year must be “an exceptional fire chief” and must have made significant contributions to fire service on a regional or national basis.

Krakeel has worked in fire and emergency services for more than 25 years, 15 of them in Fayette County as assistant chief and, since 1994, department director.

Under his direction, the department has been first more than once. It was the first fire department in Georgia to deploy automated external defibrillators on engine companies and within the past year has expanded the program county-wide to include all law enforcement agencies.

The department also was first in the state to have career firefighters certified through the National Professional Qualification System as Firefighter II. Approximately 65 percent of the staff are registered nationally as paramedics, with paramedic certification a requirement for all officers. Fayette's department is the only one in Georgia with that level of certification.

Another first, Fayette's department was the first in Georgia to enact a sprinkler ordinance for multifamily dwellings, and to develop a portable fire safety education home, designed to teach children how to escape from a burning home.

The department's Emergency Medical Services also have been first in Georgia to perform a variety of advanced procedures, and recently entered into a partnership with Clayton College and State University and the University of Maryland to enhance its paramedics' education for Critical Care Paramedic certification.

As a result, the Fayette EMS has received numerous state, regional and national awards and has hosted dignitaries from several foreign countries who want to learn from Fayette's success.

Emergency management also comes under Krakeel's direction in Fayette, and the department recently was recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for exemplary practices through development and implementation of the Fayette County Resource Council. The nonprofit council, with members from both public and private sector agencies, is designed to share resources in the event of a hazardous materials crisis.

Krakeel also has been involved in numerous local, state, regional, national and international emergency services organizations, and has been a primary speaker at more than 30 conferences. He is past president of the Metro Atlanta Fire Chiefs Association, and current chairman of the National Fire protection Association's Technical Project in EMS.

Krakeel also is principle negotiator for the International Association of Fire Chiefs to the Health Care Financing Administration's Negotiational Rulemaking Committee on a National Ambulance Fee Schedule.

He is in his third year as a ember of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, was instrumental in development of the National Fire Services Accreditation Program, and is one of ten faculty members for the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.

He also has been published in eight professional publications.