with Fire Chief Chris Bates

Our guest speaker, courtesy of Lion Lou Horner, was Cleveland City Fire Chief Chris Bates. He informed us how well equipped we are in fire suppression and first responder capabilities. We have 6 fire stations strategically placed throughout the city including one on APD40. We are privy to a state-of-the-art Fire truck that cost the city 1.6 million dollars which was a bargain of a price because Athens is now trying to acquire one at 2.1 million dollars, This Fire truck is housed at the Fire Station on Keith St. We no longer have zones when it comes to responding to emergencies. The Fire Department now uses ABL, which is a GPS system. If a fire call comes in, the system will route the Fire Truck that is closest to that location even if it was just in transit. Their training is top of the line. The ISO is 2 , which means that the systems and protocols in place assure prompt responses usually in approximately 4 minutes 20 seconds. There was so much technical information that we heard. I am sorry I cannot communicate these protocols effectively to you through this letter, but I can tell you that even though we are growing, Fire Chief Chris Bates and the city are staying on top of efforts to meet the city’s needs.