The Tennessee Municipal League (TML), a voluntary, cooperative organization established by the cities and towns of the state for mutual assistance and improvements, has awarded the Johnson City Fire Department its 2019 Excellence in Fire Services Award. The award is given in recognition of the efforts made by the department to not only plan for today’s needs but to strategically plan for the City’s future fire service needs.
“The Johnson City Fire Department is committed to excellence in public safety,” said Johnson City Fire Department Chief James Stables. “By engaging in proactive planning and collaboration with multiple entities, we have been able to improve staffing levels, initiate plans for new fire stations, and facilitated upgrades and the replacement of aging equipment.”
After working with the University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service (UT-MTAS) to complete a comprehensive fire management study, the Johnson City Fire Department devised a formal planning effort that works within the City’s budget limitations.
The department also worked with UT-MTAS to launch a comprehensive customer-driven fire department strategic plan that will gather input from internal and external customers, as well as City stakeholders to determine the needs, expectations, strengths and challenges of the department, and to address any gaps in expectations.
In addition, the Johnson City Fire Department is working toward an accreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence’s Commission on Fire Accreditation and encouraging department members to seek professional certifications on their own to better the department as a whole.