Cobb County fire chief: data, EMS and new Station 29 to meet growth

Fire Chief Michael Cunningham told Commissioner Eric Allen that the Cobb County Fire Department is using data-driven tools to locate stations, place apparatus and address shifting call types as the county grows.

Cunningham said the department sees "about 60 to 65%" of its work as EMS calls and that those trends — combined with high-density residential growth — are changing the "geometry" of fire response. "We have advanced life support all over the entire county," he said, and that placement decisions rely on heat maps and demographic analysis.

To meet demand in growing neighborhoods, the county is building Station 29 (referred to in the interview as the "Unicorn Station"), which Cunningham said will help keep response times low in the area. He added that the county budgets for apparatus replacements annually and that he recently approved purchases of transport-capable rescue vehicles and additional quick-response vehicles to improve mobility across the county.

Cunningham emphasized mitigation through a community risk response division that runs fire education programs, a Safety Village and smoke-alarm blitzes that place detectors in homes identified as high risk. "They can go to the Safety Village website, and they can actually schedule for people to come out and inspect their home," he said.

Cunningham framed recruitment as an outreach issue, suggesting that public encounters and visible apparatus can serve as recruitment touchpoints. He also said workforce expectations have shifted toward shorter-term service patterns similar to military "tours," prompting the department to adapt recruitment and retention approaches.

The transcript does not include budget totals for the new station or the procurement line items; Cunningham referred to ongoing capital-improvement plans and said the county has been supportive of replacement and purchase programs.