Engine Company 23

Berkeley Park is very fortunate to have a City of Atlanta Fire Station located within the neighborhood. It was built in 1948 as a Fulton County fire station. As many know, we lost this station in 1994 due to budget cutbacks but were able to get it reopened in 1998. In fact, the Berkeley Park Neighborhood Association owes its very existence to the cause of getting Engine Company #23 re-activated. It was the very first joint effort and goal of the newly formed BPNA.

In addition, Fire Station #23 previously served as the meeting place for the Berkeley Park Neighborhood Association. Saying this, we all should stop by every now and then to thank them for the job they do or just to say hello. We all know they work 24/7/365 but they are always glad to see visitors. And, if you give them some notice and chip in on the food cost, you can even stop by and have a great meal. These guys can really cook!

Remember, too, that you can get free blood pressure monitoring at the station, and that's something more of us should take advantage of on a regular basis. You can make an appointment to have your child passenger seat inspected for safe installation. Radon detection kits are also available. They also give out free smoke detectors to those that need them. Speaking of smoke detectors, have you checked the batteries in yours lately? A good tip is to always check your smoke detectors twice a year when daylight savings time takes effect in April and when it ends in October. If you have any questions, they will come to your home and test the smoke alarm for you.

Engine #23 is a 2001 Spartan Gladiator manufactured by Quality Fire Apparatus in Talladega, Alabama. It came to the City of Atlanta as part of a lease-purchase plan in which every piece of front-line fire apparatus in Atlanta was replaced over a three year span. Engine #23 has a 1500 gallon-per-minute pump which is capable of 2000 GPM through the 4-inch pre-piped deck gun. It carries 500 gallons of water and 60 gallons of foam concentrate. We carry 1600 feet of 3" hose, 400 feet of 2 ½" hose, 700 feet of 1 ¾" hose and 200 feet of 1" booster line.

Engine #23 is a Basic Life Support Engine Company which responds to medical emergencies as well as fires and rescues. Every crew is capable of providing "Intermediate" level emergency medical care. This includes procedures such as cardiac defibrillation and monitoring, Philips HeartStart FR2+, intravenous fluid therapy, CombiTube esophageal airway intubation (Caution... graphic video, procedure performed on live patient), Pulse Oximetry Nonin Onyx, Blood Glucose monitoring, and many other emergency medical procedures. Transportation to the hospital is provided by Grady EMS. In critical situations, Atlanta Fire-Rescue members will continue medical care along with the ambulance crew in the ambulance on the way to the Emergency Department. All medical care is provided under the direction on Dr. James Augustine, who holds the position of "Fire Surgeon", or more commonly referred to as "Medical Director". All Atlanta Fire-Rescue crews have the capability of online medical direction 24/7 via the departments 800mhz radio system as well as cell phone capabilities.

The following is a list of our firefighters at Station #23. They work one day on and two days off, so it's pretty easy to stop by and see any of them on a regular basis. They'd love to hear from you.

A-Shift: Capt. (Vacant), FAO Steven "Smitty" Smith, FF Kelvin "Bump" Jones, FF/EMT Evans "EB" Pollard, FF/EMT Felicia "Fifi" Harvey

B-Shift: Capt/Pmdc. Keith "Shoe" Schumacher, FAO John "Johhny Mac" McIlwain, FF/EMT Dane Clark, FF/EMT Damon Harris

C-Shift: Capt/EMT. Donald Zachary, FAO/EMT Lloyd Medina, FF Matthew "Goody" Goodson, FF/Pmdc Leando "Lee" Ford, FF/EMT Abe Weaver

Read about Berkeley Park's first volunteer firemen in History Part IV.

Be sure to visit the Atlanta Firefighters web site: www.AtlantaFirefighters.org

Remember: Always Call 911 First in any Emergency!

Atlanta Fire-Rescue
Engine Company #23
Berkeley Park
1545 Howell Mill Road, NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30318
EMERGENCY - 911
404-609-8046
Station23@Firehousemail.com