Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services was recently honored by Safe Kids Georgia at their Inaugural Safe Kids Georgia Gala that was held on Friday, May 4th, at the fabulous W Hotel in Midtown.  Safe Kids Georgia presented Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services with the Lead Agency of the Year Award at the event.  Numerous local celebrities were on hand to honor those in attendance including Atlanta Falcons football players Kevin Cone and Andrew Jackson, Lori Geary with WSB-TV and Christi Paul from CNN.

According to Safe Kids Georgia, “Not only do they house our Safe Kids Cherokee County Coalition but they participate in our efforts and make Safe Kids a priority. Even though there was recent change in leadership within the fire department, the Safe Kids Program remained a focus and continues to be supported as “a program the community couldn’t do without.” The support for Safe Kids Cherokee County goes higher to the county management level. Cherokee County recently worked through a contract deal with a local community sponsor, Northside Hospital Cherokee, to secure funding for the coalition for the next five years! Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services provide vehicles, trailers, fire apparatus, manpower and supplies necessary for the events. The fire department’s desire to help is the driving force behind Safe Kids Cherokee County.

Safe Kids is dedicated solely to preventing unintentional childhood injury. The focus is on one specific problem: more children 1 to 14 die from accidents such as motor vehicle crashes, drowning, and falls than any other cause. Accidents kill one million children around the world each year and permanently disable many more. Almost all of the injuries are preventable.

Captain Chad Arp, Fire Safety Educator with Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services, is the Coalition Leader for Safe Kids Cherokee County.  To learn more about Safe Kids Cherokee County or to volunteer, please call Captain Arp at (770) 721-7808.

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