News Events at Gatlinburg Fire Department

The Mountain Press - Gatlinburg s Perryman named Fire Educator of the Year
Amanda Perryman, fire prevention officer for the Gatlinburg Fire Department, was named Fire Educator of the Year by the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office. She was honored for her dedication to educate the public about the hazard of fire. "My first year at the Gatlinburg Fire Department I was like most new firefighters," she said in accepting the award. "I was excited to be there and was just waiting for the tome to drop. However my first year we had a 12-year-old die in a house fire. This was a tragedy and this child's needless death profoundly impacted the entire community. Ever since then we have worked and continue to work hard to prevent this from ever happening again. This event impacted me in a way that is hard to describe but it also gave me a passion for fire safety education." The Gatlinburg Fire Department took a program that had consisted of a two-hour class once a year for third-graders and expanded it to an hour-long presentation for every individual classroom in pre-K through eighth grade. The presentations include age-appropriate lessons and hands-on activities. "We also have a large presentation with puppets for pre-K through third grade. Our smoke alarm program provides smoke alarms and batteries at no cost. We are working to ensure that all our residents have working smoke alarms," Perryman said. The department has a quarterly monthly community mailout with safety information, and a free firefighter children's camp for ages 6-11. "We teach fire safety, first aid, CPR, water safety, bike safety, outdoor safety, pedestrian safety and much more. We go rafting, hiking, zip-lining and more. Our programs consist of much more and we are continually striving to reach more people and do a better job," she said. "Tennessee has one of the highest fire death rates in the United States and this is unacceptable," Perryman said. "We need to work harder to prevent fire deaths and injuries." The Mountain Press - Gatlinburg s Perryman named Fire Educator of the Year
2011 Banquet Awards
Congratulations to you for your excellent service to the visitors and residents of the City of Gatlinburg.

Captain David Puckett Paramedic/Firefighter 10 Year Service Award	Lt. Terry Maney Firefighter 40 Year Service Award

Lt. Vickie McCarter Paramedic/Firefighter 25 Year Service Award	Johnny Townsend Firefighter/EMT/Inspector Career Firefighter of the Year


Lt. Joe Galentine Paramedic/Firefighter 20 Year Service Award	Joe Ayers Firefighter/Paramedic EMS Award

Katie Ellis Paramedic/Firefighter Training Award	Isaac Inman Volunteer Firefighter of the Year Award

Michael Clemmons Paramedic/Firefighter A Shift Award	Amanda Perryman Paramedic/Firefighter B Shift Award
Ian Wedlock Paramedic/Firefighter C Shift Award
The City of Gatlinburg thanks you all for your hard work and dedication to keeping the citizens, tourists and property of Gatlinburg safe!

Enhanced Communications for the Fire Department Communication within the Gatlinburg Fire Department has been enhanced with the acquisition of new radio communications equipment. Funded by a $155,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 25 mobile radios for ambulances and fire trucks and 50 portable radios for individual firefighters are now in use. "The new system includes additional repeaters within the City and greatly enhances emergency communication over our previous system," said Fire Chief Greg Miller. "The new equipment is a welcome addition to our Department." The new digital trunking system conforms to new Federal Communication Commission requirements related to narrow banding on public safety communication channels. Land mobile radio (LMR) systems utilized by municipal government have used 25 kHz-wide blocks of radio spectrum or channels. Mandated in December 2004 by the FCC, any non-federal LMR that is operating below 512 MHz must make the move to 12.5kHz narrowband voice channels and more efficient data channels by January 1, 2013. "We're ahead of the curve," said Miller. "We are thankful for the FEMA grant to get this system in place." Reducing channel width to 12.5 kHz narrowband and at the same time taking advantage of new technology allows more channels to exist within the same spectrum.


Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce - Gatlinburg Gateway Foundation - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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