Hiawassee, Young Harris, Tate City
Towns County
Stations 1, 2, 4 & 5 are equipped with rescue vehicles. All stations are equipped with engines with a minimum of 1,000 gallons of water, and all engines are equipped with a 1,250 GPM pump or greater. All 6 stations also have tanker trucks (truck companies) to accompany the engines with the first due assignments. Towns County also has one 75 foot aerial (ladder) truck at Station #6. All of the rescue trucks are equipped with hydraulic tools (jaws of life).
Towns County Fire & Rescue is a combination of paid/paid on call department consisting of approximately 60 members.
Towns County also has a Water Rescue Team consisting of a dive team and operates with 3 boats strategically placed on Lake Chatuge for rapid response.
Towns County Fire & Rescue also assists the EMS (ambulance) service with all medical emergency calls.
Towns County Fire & Rescue duties also covers many miles of the Appalachian Trail which borders White, Rabun, Clay, and Habersham Counties.
Towns County’s ISO rating is 5/9. In 2014, Towns County’s call volume was 1,525 calls, which is a record for Towns County, and in 2015, we project to be at 1,700 calls.
Our automatic and mutual aide partners are Union County, Georgia and Clay County, North Carolina.
Towns County Fire & Rescue also operates a Firewise Program, which is a community educational program for the purpose of fire prevention within our community. Currently, we have 18 Firewise communities in Towns County and we are #1 in the State of Georgia, and a top leader in the U.S. Since we have implemented the Firewise Program, the number of fires in Towns County have been significantly lower than other surrounding counties that do not have a Firewise Program.
Fire and Rescue
Harold Copeland, Fire Chief
706 994-4934 Cell
706-896-6990 Office
Towns County Fire & Rescue operates with 6 Fire Stations:
Station #1 (Staffed Mon-Fri- 8:00 – 16:00)
156 Sims Circle
Hiawassee, Ga 30546
706-896-2090
Engine 1
Tanker 1
Rescue 1 (Extrication tool)
Utility 1
Station #2 (staffed Mon-Fri- 8:00 – 16:00)
7084 Highway 76 West
Young Harris, GA 30582
706-379-3060
Engine 2
Tanker 2
Rescue 2 (extrication tool)
Mini Pumper 2
Reserve Engine
Station #3 (Bald Mountain park (Volunteer)
569 Gander Gap Road
Hiawassee, GA
706-896-6156
Engine 3
Tanker 3
Public Education/fire Wise Trailer)
Station #4 High Tower (Volunteer)
6327 Highway 76 East
Hiawassee, GA
706-896-2233
Engine 4
Tanker 4
Rescue 4 (Extrication tool)
Station #5- High River (Volunteer)
1840 Underwood Road
Hiawassee, GA
706-896-2987
Engine 5
Tanker 5
Rescue 5 (Extrication tool)
Station #6 (Volunteer)
Training Classroom Located at this Station- Bunker Gear
Laundry Facility
441 Sunnyside Road
Hiawassee, GA
Squad 6
Water Rescue/Recovery Trailer
Station #6 Annex- Administrative Offices for Fire Chief, Training Div. Chief
(Old Georgia Forestry Ranger Station)
443 Sunnyside Road
Hiawassee, GA 706-896-6990
Engine 6
Ladder 6