About West Jackson
The West Jackson Fire District was established in March 1968 to provide fire protection for the West Jackson community. The following is some factual information about West Jackson.
The Department is governed by an elected Fire Board. The Board appoints a Fire Chief, who appoints officers and hires firefighters. The Department responds to all fires in the District. The Department also responds to motor vehicle collisions, search and rescue and provides non-transport EMS as part of our Medical First Responder duties.
The Department is staffed 24 hours a day, every day with a minimum of three personnel on duty. There is one chaplain that is a local pastor. The Department is organized into three shifts. All full time and part time personnel are trained to a minimum of Georgia Basic Firefighter and are certified by Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council. Each shift also has a minimum of two personnel trained to the level of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT), Advanced EMT, or Paramedic. Our paid staff is augmented by our Volunteer Firefighters that respond back to incidents as dispatched, or they staff our apparatus as unpaid crew members working 24 hour shifts.
The Department participates in training hosted by the Georgia Fire Academy, either at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, GA or at locally delivered classes. The Department has several fire instructors and CPR instructors for in house continuing education.
Station 1
Station 1 is located at 69 W Jackson Rd, Braselton, GA 30517. The station has four standard bays and three drive through bays, with the capability of housing at least nine apparatus. There are two storage rooms and a bathroom in the bay section. One bay houses workout equipment for the firefighters to maintain their physical fitness. The quarters include bedrooms, bathrooms, a day room and kitchen, 5 offices and a training room.
Originally built in 1974 as a 3 bay station, this station has had additions added 3 different times since its original construction. In the 1990’s another 3 bay drive through bay was added to house additional Fire Apparatus as well as a Jackson County Ambulance and the former Volunteer Rescue Squad. The Fire Department took over Rescue duties in 2004 and Jackson County Med 3 relocated in 2006. In 2005 both original buildings were combined along with the addition of a new bay to house larger apparatus. Finally in 2007 the “firehouse” area was added so that we could begin 24-hour staffing.
Station 2
Station 2 will be located at 1845 Ednaville Road, Braselton, GA 30517. Completion of this station was slated for December of 2014; however due to financial constraints this has been delayed for the foreseeable future. This station will be a satellite station that will not be staffed until further notice. Station 2 will resolve an issue where some homes are located outside of 5 road miles of Station 1, and as such, have homeowner’s insurance rates that are almost triple the amount of other homes in our District.
UPDATE 6/11/2015: Temporary Station 2 is in service as of July 1st, 2015 with an unstaffed engine at 711 Ednaville Road, Braselton, GA 30517.
UPDATE 8/23/2016: With the improvement to the finances of the District, The original plan for Station 2 at the 1847 Ednaville Road location is progressing again.
Area
The West Jackson Fire District is approximately 30 square miles and covers the Town of Braselton (inside Jackson County), the City of Hoschton and parts of unincorporated Jackson County. Jackson County EMS provides EMS for our District. The Braselton Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office provide law enforcement for the District.
