There’s a New Fire Chief In Town!

Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, Fire Chief Johnny Teeters brings 38 years of experience to the Coweta County Fire Department. Chief Teeters helped Greensboro improve the city’s ISO fire insurance rating from a seven to a one. We had the opportunity to briefly interview Chief Teeters. Here is what he had to say.

How do you like Newnan?
I think it is great, it is a little more rural than I am used to. It is like going back to a slower time. I have loved every minute here so far.

If you could encourage home owners to do one thing to make their homes safer, what would it be?

Make sure you have a working smoke detector. It is the best thing for your safety and survival.

If you could encourage business owners to take one emergency planning measure, what would it be?
Have a home escape plan where your family has a place to meet in the event of a disaster. Many times there are emergencies or disasters and families become separated. Evacuation plans are also important for businesses. They should a floor plan of their building with an evacuation route marked on it. In Greensboro it was an ordinance that businesses have these. In fact, we would help businesses write their evacuation plans. We are looking into developing a similar system here in Coweta.

What are some things that impact a city’s ISO fire insurance rating?
It involves a number of things; how fast we can respond to an emergency, our water system, and our communications system. 40% of the score is measured off water systems and it considers things like the number fire hydrants and their locations. 50% of the score is based on fire department staffing and equipment. It considers whether we are able to staff trucks with 4 people, if we have monitors on the trucks, emergency phone numbers, as well as facility and hydrant inspections. The final 10% is based on our call process, call taking and dispatching.

What is the biggest challenge that the Coweta County Fire Department faces?
Growth. It results in more cause and more needs. We have different types of buildings going up in Coweta County which causes us to face different codes. We are also facing budget issues. That is something that is effecting every county in the nation and we are not exempt.

We welcome Fire Chief Johnny Teeters to Coweta County. We are confident that his experience and continuing efforts on our behalf will continue to benefit our community. We thank him also for taking the time to share his thoughts with us.

- Icela Reets - Emergency Response Program Coordinator