Cook Co. Fire Dept. seeking volunteer firefighters

ADEL, Ga. – The Cook County Fire Department is extending a call to the community to help strengthen their team.

The Cook County Fire Department and Emergency Management Agency are seeking volunteers to join their team and support local safety efforts.

“The main things that we’re looking for is to have a good driving record with a driver’s license, a clean criminal background history, and they’ve got to pass a physical. We express to hire everybody right off the bat up front and to make sure they understand that it’s not a paid position or anything like that. The volunteers are just whenever you have time,” said Johnny West, Cook County Fire Chief and EMA Director.

Nationwide, 75 to 80% of fire departments rely heavily on volunteers, and Cook county is no exception. They’re looking for individuals ready to dedicate their time and passion to serving the community.

“We’ve got several different roles. We’ve got a support role. And, those people, they go through the certification process here in-house. We train them for what everything is on the trucks and all the equipment stuff that we use on a day to day basis. They’re not actually in a position to go out and fight fire or anything like that, but they can help change out, you know, some of our air bottles or help pass out water and check blood pressures and make sure they’re okay on the medical side. So, there’s a lot of functions that they have,” said West.

The department also provides opportunities for volunteers looking to advance their careers in the field.

“We’ve got a registered volunteer program through the State of Georgia. And, so, again, they’ll complete the course in-house and then actually get them to where they can do structural firefighting. If they want to go further than that, there’s a firefighter one program that we can add to the end of that course and get them to where they can go to work for one of the paid fire departments,” said West.

With an upcoming training class on the horizon, the Cook County Fire Department is encouraging interested individuals to apply.

“Very simple. My address is 3295 County Farm Road here, here in Adel. It’s at the county’s 911 center. I’ve got applications available here. You can also contact me on my cell 229-230-1239 and I’ll work it out to where I can get an application to you. Or you can email me at johnny.west@cookcountyga.us,” said West.

De’Andra Jacobs reporting.

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