County Fire Office
239 Gordon Street
Rochelle GA 31079
Richard Rhodes
Fire Consultant ffemtrhodes@gmail.com
Room 116
Fire Department(s)
Fire Protection for Wilcox County is provided by the four city departments, (Abbeville, Rochelle, Pitts, and Pineview) as well as one County Fire Department in the unincorporated area of Cedar Creek. Each of these departments covers a geographical area of land known as the Emergency Response Zone (see map). The cities and the county operate under a Fire Pact agreement that ensures reliable fire protection to all parts of the county and ensures mutual aid agreements are in place for interagency operations.
Cedar Creek Fire Department
Cedar Creek Fire Department provides an all-risk, all-hazards service to the unincorporated areas of Wilcox County that seeks to mitigate risk through preparedness initiatives and partnerships. Some of the services provided by the Department include Fire Suppression, Hazardous Materials Response and mitigation, search and rescue, dive rescue/recovery, fire prevention, and fire and life safety education. Cedar Creek Fire Department was established in 2001 under the leadership of Norman Cohen and after generous donations of land, time, and money from concerned citizens in Wilcox County. The Department is an all-volunteer organization staffed by more than 20 volunteers who must undergo rigorous training as required by the state to become a certified firefighter. They then must complete at least 24 hours of training each year to maintain that certification. In addition, more than half of the members are also EMS trained and respond to medical emergencies in Wilcox County. Anyone seeking to become a volunteer should email ffemtrhodes@gmail.com for an application. Wilcox County has developed a plan to provide more fire coverage for a greater area of the county and has begun work on alternate water sources (ponds) as well as the locations of where 3 fire stations need to be placed to provide the highest amount of fire coverage. This project will take some time to complete but will provide large safety and economic benefits to the citizens of Wilcox County by lowering the cost of property insurance.
Fire Suppression Rating
Insurance Services Office (ISO) is an independent statistical, rating, and advisory organization that serves the property/casualty insurance industry. ISO collects information on a community’s public fire protection and analyzes the data using the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). ISO then assigns a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents exemplary public protection and Class 10 indicates less than minimum recognized protection. Cedar Creek Fire Department has lowered its rating from a class 9 to a class 8 and will be undergoing evaluation to lower that further in 2023. The goal of Wilcox County is to provide more complete fire coverage while also lowering the cost of property insurance for the citizens of Wilcox County.
