It was a gala event by any estimation. The April 1 celebration in Fairburn marked the first day of operation of the new Fairburn Fire Department. A real sense of celebration was in the air, with a station full of guests, food and fun included. No one that day could have been happier than new Fire Chief Jody Weller and long time firefighter, fire safety supervisor and firefighter advocate Walt Brown.

It was quite a crowd that spent the better part of the day at the station. Mayor Betty Hannah and city council members attended, as did Commissioner Bill Edwards along with the new Fairburn firefighters, those from Fulton County and surrounding areas, firefighters’ families and residents.

The ceremony began with the presentation of colors by Fulton County Fire Rescue Honor Guard. Then Hannah addressed the full crowd gathered inside the station. Her remarks were followed by those of Weller, who expressed thanks for all those that made the transition possible. Perhaps as significant as any part of the ceremony was the presentation honoring Walt Brown for his years of service and the announcement that Engine No.1 would bear his name.

“Engine No.21 is now Engine No.1,” Weller said with a smile, making the announcement as Walt and Carol Brown stood at the podium. “Walt has been so important to this fire department for more than 34 years as a firefighter and as Chief. I want to thank him for all the advice he gave me when I was hired as Chief. There’s no way I could have put this department together without him.”

The Fairburn Fire Department is staffed with a force of 27 and three fire engines, Chief Weller said proudly. In assembling the department Weller received 119 applications from at least 20 different departments in and out of Georgia. He took a few minutes after the ceremony to reflect on what it means for the city to run its own fire department.

“I’m very excited about this day and with our relationship with Fulton County and the way the transition has gone,” Weller said, beaming. “This day seemed so very far away when I was hired in October. And I was very excited today to see not only all of our personnel standing there, but the personnel from the surrounding agencies here to welcome us into the fire department community. And as for our firefighters, the first day they came in they were working with the Fulton County folks trying to get the station arranged how they like it. When they got off, one of the guys said they were in there scrubbing and cleaning and doing all the stuff they don’t normally do, but they did it with a smile on their faces because they were happy to be here. Everybody is happy to be here.”

Citing the changes that led to the city running its own department, City Administrator Jim Williams said the station was initially opened by Fulton County to serve Fairburn and the surrounding area. With the changes last year due to the incorporation of Sandy Springs, the operation of the department through city funding was something that was destined to happen, he said.

“The services in South Fulton were basically provided countywide and I believe the only city fire department was in Union City,” Williams said. “This served us well until fairly recently. There was a growing problem within Fulton County with the incorporation of Sandy Springs and the loss of the revenue that comes from that area. And we found that it was more to our advantage to form the fire department, to finance the fire department out of our own revenue source and to separate ourselves. Basically, it was a financial decision. With the city being better able financially to pick up the responsibility and Fulton County suffering from the loss of the Sandy Springs revenue, it just seemed to go hand in hand. So we took that opportunity during our last budget meeting to appropriate the funds and make it possible to start the department on April 1. It was something that, more or less, was destined to happen and I think the timing worked out well for us and for Fulton County.”

Williams said that after the incorporation of Sandy Springs, Fulton County began to look to the cities for other revenues sources for fire services. Some of that came in the form of higher assessments, totaling several hundred thousand dollars per year more than Fairburn had previously paid, he said. With Fairburn going it on their own, the department starts out closer to breaking even.

“Even if we’re not saving money, it’s close to breaking even and it’s much more rewarding for the community to have its own department. Back when it was, say, a million dollars to (fund the department) and we were only paying $30,000-40,000 there would be no sense in doing it,” Williams said. “Fulton County treated us well for many years. It was a good relationship. But it got to the point where it was no longer an effective financial relationship.”

All in all, Williams summation of the events that led to Fairburn running its own department, were reflective of so many of the comments heard April 1.

“The formation of the fire department in Fairburn is something I’m very, very proud of,” Williams explained. “You spend a lot of effort to make the decision, you figure out where the funds are going to come from. That was the big step. But then select a chief and get someone of Jody’s capabilities and then to see what kind of a wonderful team he forms. It’s just one of those things that keeps getting better and better.”

The festivities continued well into the evening, with cotton candy and activities for the children, activities that many of the adults seemed to enjoy as well. And at the end of the day, history had been made and Fairburn had its Fire Department.

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