Henry County Fire Department

Division Chief of Prevention

This position is responsible for organizing, designing, and implementing fire, safety, and accessibility codes and fire prevention programs for the citizens of Henry County and the employees of Henry County Fire Department.  This position also serves as Fire Marshal and performs the duties of a commanding officer when necessary.

Like many others, Chief Kelley is also a native of Henry County and a second-generation firefighter.  He is following in the footsteps of his father and his brother who were firemen for the City of Morrow and Henry County.  Chief Kelley started as a volunteer firefighter for Henry County in 1982 before becoming employed with Henry County Fire Department in 1983.  Chief Kelley has come up through the ranks of the department starting out as a Firefighter / EMT then to Firefighter / Paramedic.  In 1996 he began serving in the office of the Fire Marshal as an Inspector/Investigator, later to be promoted to Lieutenant Inspector/ Investigator.  In 2000, Chief Kelley took the position of Fire Marshal overseeing the Prevention Division.

Some goals the Fire Marshall has for his Division includes:

• To expedite the plan review and inspection process on all new buildings helping the businesses coming into the county.
• To contribute to the reduction of Arson on the county level as well as the state level.

New Construction Inspections

Captain Dale Hutchison currently supervises the New Construction Inspection, which is responsible for handling plan reviews and conducting inspections, on new buildings. Their primary responsibility is to ensure the life safety of all new buildings in the County. The New Construction Inspection is staffed with 2 Lieutenant/ Inspectors, and 1 Lieutenant/Plan Reviewer. The New Construction Inspection  is very actively involved with development efforts in the county.  Personnel in the New Construction Inspection  regularly participate in due-diligence meetings, on-site consultations, pre-review meetings, and work hand-in-hand with other county development agencies such as the building department, tax commissioner, planning & zoning, and the county’s water authority. All certified Fire Inspectors are members of the Georgia Fire Inspectors Association, and the International Building Code Council.

The inspection division reviewed 907 building and site plans and inspected 2,215 new buildings and 1,673 existing buildings in 2007. In 2006, 1136 building and site plans were reviewed and 2,457 new buildings and 2,193 existing buildings were inspected.

Existing Inspections Investigations/Arson Unit

Captain Ron Reagan, who was newly promoted this last year, currently supervises the Existing Inspections and Investigations, which is responsible for inspecting all existing buildings and investigating the cause and origin of fires which may be suspicious in nature, high-dollar loss, or a fire which the cause cannot be determined. If there is a situation where criminal acts are involved the scene is considered the responsibility of the fire departments and the investigator of that scene handles the case in its entirety from the fire scene to the courtroom. The Existing Inspections and Investigations works closely with the law enforcement elements in the county, such as the county Police Department, Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office (for both adult and juvenile courts). Investigators also work closely with Insurance companies and their respective investigators, and when needed provide assistance to the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The Existing Inspections and Investigations is staffed with 4 Lieutenant/Inspectors.  In addition, the Fire Marshal and 5 of the Inspection Branch personnel are cross-trained, and certified as Fire Investigators.  The Fire Marshal and both Captains are also certified police officers, allowing them to apply for search and arrest warrants. All the division’s certified investigators are members of the Georgia Fire Investigators Association and the International Fire Investigators Association. The Fire Marshal and both Captains also are members of the Metro Arson Task Force (headed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Captain Reagan was also instrumental in the creation of the County’s Juvenile Fire-setter Program. Once juveniles are identified, the investigator works in conjunction with Fire Safety Educators, juvenile court officials and mental health professionals, to provide counseling and treatment.

In 2007, the Arson Unit investigated 129 fires with the following outcomes, 0 fire deaths and made 4 arrests for the year. In 2006, the Unit investigated 151 fires with the following outcomes, 6 fire deaths and made 7 arrests for the year.