The DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department has been recognized as one of Tennessee’s elite fire departments for outstanding training achievement for the fourth year in a row.Most notable among these awards is the Gold Level Award, which names the number one volunteer fire department in Tennessee for training hours.The local department logged 1,469 training hours in 2011-2012, the second highest amount for any volunteer fire department in Tennessee.The department was recognized as a Silver Level fire department for its efforts.The local department was ranked number 25 out of all 732 fire departments in the state, both paid and volunteer. DeKalb County Mayor Mike Foster commended the department’s members and officers 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 are getting 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. “These rankings make it very clear that we have an excellent group of men and women who are willing to do whatever it takes to be ready to respond to the emergency needs of our citizens.”