DeKalb County Fire Chief Darnell Fullum has been named this year’s Fire Chief of the Year by the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs.

The county’s fire chief since 2014, Fullum said, “I share this honor with the brave and dedicated men and women of DeKalb County Fire Rescue who serve our residents every day. It is an honor to have been recognized by my peers across the state.”

Since 2017, Fullum has:

  • Championed better pay for DCFR.
  • Used $2 million in SPLOST funding to design and develop a fleet of 10 new rapid-response vehicles to alleviate some of the overuse of other larger DCFR units.
  • Led the efforts to allocate another $44 million to replace four existing fire stations, construct two new fire stations and repair other stations.
  • Upgraded the DCFR radio communications system, using $1.5 million in SPLOST funding.
  • Oversaw efforts that increased DCFR’s Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating from a Class 3 department to a Class 2, resulting in lower insurance rates countywide.
  • Been a leader in DeKalb’s multiple large-scale efforts to provide 15,000 vaccinations against COVID-19 and monthly efforts over the last three years to address pandemic-related food insecurities, with 130,000 boxes of food.

See more information at tinyurl.com/bddsc7r4.