LaFayette Public Safety
In 2021, the LaFayette Police Department and LaFayette Fire Department were consolidated under one administration.
LaFayette Public Safety Director Stacey Meeks heads up three departments which include Police, Fire and Emergency Management.
Department Assistant Chief Jason Steadman is running the day-to-day operations of the Police Department. The day-to-day operations of the Fire Department is conducted by Assistant Chief Stacy Blalock.
LaFayette Fire Department
208 N. Main St.
LaFayette, GA 30728
706-639-1555
The City of LaFayette is a community that takes the P.R.I.D.E. initiative seriously where protection is first and foremost for the citizens of LaFayette.
LaFayette Fire Services understands the best way to protect its citizens is to educate the public, continue to enhance services to better aid residents and be involved in the community.
LaFayette Fire Services is comprised of 7 full time firefighters, 6 part time firefighters as well as around 5 volunteer firefighters.
Assistant Chief Stacy Blalock is joined by three shift Supervisors which include Lt. Mike Cook, Lt. Matt Sipsy and Lt. Nathan Elliott.
The fire fleet consists of a 1000-gallon pumper, a 750-gallon pumper, a 500-gallon pumper and a ladder/pumper truck as well as a rescue squad truck and a rescue boat for the city lake.
More than a fire department
LaFayette Fire Services has recently moved into a more progressive and preventative means of service to the City of LaFayette. The city is continually working to achieve this with the inclusion of enhancements towards on scene emergency medical responses as well as conduct hazardous mitigation planning and preparation for potential natural disasters.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Hazard mitigation is described as an effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. This involves long-term planning where the city identifies risks and vulnerabilities that could occur from potential natural disasters and organize strategic plans for protecting citizens and property in future hazardous event scenarios.
Community relationships and safety
The City of LaFayette’s Public Safety Director Stacey Meeks said maintaining a good relationship with the community is a key component in fire services. Meeks has over 25 years of experience with the City of LaFayette.
“We definitely interact with the public on a daily basis,” Meeks said.
Whether it’s responding to a house fire or arriving on the scene to administer medical attention prior to the arrival of an ambulance, LaFayette Fire Services will be there with trained professionals looking out for the well-being and safety of the community.
“We handle a wide variety of different calls which enables us to interact with the public in a very positive manner,” Meeks said.
Around 80 percent of the calls the city fire services receive are for medical responses and each firefighter is a certified EMT including one paramedic on staff.
Meeks said LaFayette Fire Services is now fully capable of administering emergency medical response to area residents. The fire engines are supplied with a full array of medical equipment—commonly found within an ambulance—which allows our firefighter EMT’s to initiate more advanced onsite medical procedures, which ultimately translates into faster transport times by our local ambulance service.
There’s no time wasted at the scene, Meeks said. A resident is fully treated and ready for transport by the time the ambulance arrives to the scene.
“We are very fortunate that all of our guys are EMT Certified and we pride ourselves on providing initial medical treatment for our citizens when they call 911,” Meeks said.
Strong Community Relationship
“I think in any government agency, it is super important to have a strong relationship with your community you service. I’m a big believer in that,” Meeks said. “When I worked as a police officer for the many years that I’ve worked with the (LaFayette) Police Department, I’m a big believer in community policing and that same concept applies to the fire services now that I have been here as fire chief. We are always looking for new programs that we can interact in with the community in a positive way.”
To the future
Meeks said within the next year, he hopes citizens will see a drastic improvement in the services provided by LaFayette Fire Services.
“One of the things I have been pretty passionate about is revamping the fire service’s emergency medical response capabilities. We have been upgrading the level of training and equipment that our firefighters have with the goal of providing a better service to the citizens of our community,” Meeks said.
Meeks said the Fire Department is in the process of building a new fire training facility to be located behind City of LaFayette Utility Building.
Meeks said the fire department is looking at future plans for finding locations to add another fire station in West LaFayette.