The DeKalb County Fire Department now ranks sixth among the 732 fire departments in Tennessee, both volunteer and paid, for 2012-13 training achievement by the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy.
Considering the ranking among volunteer departments in the state, DeKalb County Fire Department is ranked first.
This is the fifth consecutive year DeKalb County Fire Department has been recognized as one of Tennessee’s elite fire departments for outstanding training achievement.
Last year, the department was awarded the Silver Level Award and was the #2 volunteer fire department in Tennessee for training hours.
This year, the department logged 3,306 training hours and was recognized as a Gold Level fire department in Tennessee for its 2012-13 training efforts.
Executive Director of the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy Roger Hawks attended the DeKalb County Commission meeting on Tuesday evening and made the formal elite award presentation to DeKalb County. 
DeKalb County Mayor Mike Foster commended the department’s members and leaders for making DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department’s training program such a huge success.
“It is amazing to see the level of commitment that we continue to get year after year from our volunteer firefighters who work hard and train hard to make sure our citizens have good fire protection here in DeKalb County,” Foster said.
“Getting this kind of statewide recognition for the fifth consecutive year makes it very clear that we have an excellent group of men and women who are willing to do whatever it takes to be prepared to respond to the emergency needs of our citizens,” said the mayor.
Fire Chief Donny Green personally commended Lieutenant David Agee, the department's training officer, for his determination in planning and coordinating the department's training activities in a manner that identifies our training program as one of top in the state, volunteer or career.
In addition to the 3,306 hours at the Academy, Lieutenant Agee coordinated 2,237 hours in "in-house" training.
Green said that without the support of Mayor Foster, the county commission, and the citizens of DeKalb County, the department could not have achieved such recognition.
“Properly trained firefighters are the best tools available to any fire department. Without proper training, the best and most expensive equipment is useless,” Green said. “However, good training coupled with good equipment is priceless.”
Training performance and documentation are a core elements in the Insurance Services Office's (ISO) property protection that determine how much property owners’ have to pay in homeowners insurance premiums. The DeKalb County Fire Department's proven success has resulted in a dramatic improvement to DeKalb County’s Class 6 Public Protection Classification Rating.
If you are interested in learning more about the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department, or would like information on how to be a member of our team and become a volunteer firefighter, you can visit the department’s website at:    www. dekalb fire.com, or call 615-464-7176.
You can also visit the department’s Facebook group page.