Emergency Services

Combining a highly trained staff with modern equipment and industry best practices allows the Sandy Springs Fire Department to provide residents and businesses with a high level of emergency response and fire protection services.

Firefighting

The department’s response times are among the best in the metro Atlanta area due to ongoing training and a commitment to providing crews with reliable equipment and operational resources.

Only approximately two percent of all calls for service involve active fires. However, when fires occur, the department is prepared to respond.

SSFD personnel complete more than 30,000 hours of fire and EMS training annually.

In 2019, the department introduced a new fleet of apparatus, including one tower ladder, two ladder trucks, two engines, and one squad vehicle.

The City maintains automatic aid agreements with North Fulton agencies and the City of Atlanta, as well as mutual aid agreements with Cobb County and DeKalb County.

SSFD is equipped to respond to emergencies on land and on water.

• Two aerial trucks — Each equipped with a 107-foot heavy-duty ladder
• One aerial platform truck — Equipped with a platform bucket at the tip of the ladder
• One squad unit — Responds to technical rescue incidents and also functions as an engine company
• Four engines — Each carries 500 gallons of water and can pump up to 2,000 gallons per minute
• One mini-pumper — Equipped with a 1,500 gallon-per-minute single-stage pump, a 400-gallon tank, and a Class A foam system
• One Battalion Chief vehicle — Equipped to manage and coordinate emergency incidents
• One rescue boat — Shallow-water access boat with a 250-horsepower jet-drive motor
• One air trailer — Carries spare SCBA bottles and includes a refill station for emergency incidents
• One Fire Corps Support Unit — Supports Community Risk Reduction efforts during civic events
• One Fire Special Operations Command Unit — Provides decontamination, hydration, rehabilitation facilities, a compressor and bottle refill station, a 150-foot tethered drone, light tower, command area, and technical rescue support equipment
• One all-terrain vehicle — Equipped with a stretcher and a 200-gallon water tank

Rescue / Emergency Medical Services

The Sandy Springs Fire Department provides advanced first-response services for vehicle accidents and medical emergencies.

Firefighters follow current evidence-based treatment recommendations established by the American Heart Association for heart attacks, sudden cardiac arrest, and stroke care.

All SSFD emergency response vehicles are licensed by the State of Georgia as first responder units.

A SSFD fire unit may respond alongside an ambulance to assist with patient care during medical emergencies.

• SSFD units are staffed with three or four firefighters certified in EMS care up to the paramedic level
• All SSFD units carry medical equipment comparable to ambulance equipment and can provide many of the same medical interventions
• The closest available and most appropriate units are dispatched to each emergency call
• Engines, ladder trucks, and squad units are the only apparatus capable of responding to structure fire incidents
• Most minor EMS calls are handled by ambulance personnel only
• More serious emergencies, incidents on high-traffic roadways, and traffic accidents may also receive a SSFD fire unit response
• Additional resources may be requested after the first units arrive on scene