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Published Sunday, November 01, 2009 in Close-Up

Hammond retiring after long county career

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Times-Herald

Dennis Hammond had never really thought much about becoming a firefighter, but in the spring of 1977, a friend mentioned to him that Coweta County was looking for members for its new fire department.

So he put in an application and soon began fighting fires.

Thirty-two years later, Hammond is retiring as Coweta County's public safety division director.

Hammond's first day with the Coweta County Fire Department was May 15, 1977. His last official day as full-time public safety director was Friday.

The department started in 1973 as an all-volunteer outfit. The first paid firefighters began work in January 1976, Hammond said.

In early 1977, Hammond was working in the machine shop at West Point-Pepperell. "I was looking to see what I was going to do with my life, and somebody, I don't remember who, said the county was looking for firefighters," Hammond said.

"It really wasn't anything I had really ever thought about. At that point, the job opportunities for firefighters in Coweta County were pretty limited. The only fire department was in the city of Newnan," Hammond said. He enjoyed his job in the machine shop doing plant maintenance, "I just knew I wasn't going to spend my life doing that. I thought I would try something new."

When he "tried" it, he wasn't expecting to stay there for the rest of his working life.

"The fire department is such a good place to work. The county has been a good employer. It was just something I fell in love with," said the Moreland native. "I didn't want to do anything else. And I never really had a desire to go anywhere else and be a firefighter."

He loved his job, but it was certainly demanding, not only on him, but on his wife, Betty, and their children.

Those long nights... and cold ... they take a toll," Hammond said.

"I've been very fortunate that my family has supported me. My wife, over the years, lost about as much sleep as I did," he said.

During his years as chief and deputy chief, when he was on call, Hammond slept with a pager by his side.

"When my kids were smaller, they might sleep through those tones. As they got older, they would get disturbed, too," Hammond said. "A radio going off at 3 in the morning is pretty loud."

Hammond served as deputy chief from 1984 to 1988. Then he went back on shifts as a battalion chief.

"Being deputy chief was rewarding," Hammond said. But "what I missed, primarily, was being at the station with the guys, and really filling more of a shift officer role versus an administrator role."

In 1995, Hammond was named chief. He served in that role until August 2008, when he was named public safety division director.

For the past several months, Hammond has also been the acting director of the Coweta 911 Center.

And though he technically retired Friday, he'll be back at work on Monday. He's agreed to stay at the 911 center until a new director can be hired.

Coweta County has been searching for a new 911 Center director for the past several months. Interim Director Patricia Orr, who had run the center since the retirement of long-time director Eddie Ball, was named director of the Carroll County 911 Center two months ago.

"We have interviewed some very good people. But I don't know that we have found a person yet that we feel like is the person we want to fill the director position with," said Coweta County Administrator Theron Gay. "We want to keep Dennis on, on kind of a part-time basis, to help us there until we can fill the position," Gay said.

Things have definitely changed in the firefighting world since 1977.

"Equipment has changed dramatically," Hammond said. "Trucks now carry such a wide array of equipment," he said. And fire departments no longer just fight fires. "The fire department answers such a wide variety of calls: fire, EMS, hazmat, rescue. It's become an all-hazards type approach," Hammond said.

Fires have also become more intense, as houses have gotten larger in Coweta County.

"When I started, the average size house was probably 1,200 square feet. Now it's probably 2,000 square feet or larger," Hammond said. "So, of course, that's more volume of fire. It's hard to contend with a larger structures with the same number of people."

As for tactics, "the county and the city [of Newnan] are always looking at new techniques, new training techniques, and new equipment that is necessary to keep their firefighters competent, safe, and more effective. That takes continual training and continual evaluation of your equipment," Hammond said.

But public safety is a team effort.

"One of the biggest things I want to stress is -- in Coweta County, we are so fortunate to have all the public safety agencies so willing to work together.

"Fire [department] works well with EMS, the sheriff's office, the city fire department, the city police department, Georgia Forestry and the state patrol. Everybody works as a team and that is really what makes it," Hammond said.

When a deputy shows up at a fire or accident scene to direct traffic, that allows firefighters to concentrate on what they do best. And EMS runs "rehab" for the firefighters coming out of the fire. "They'll jump in there providing water and towels, and changing out air bottles. It's a team effort that really helps bring together the whole operation," Hammond said.

Hammond is looking forward to retirement, but "you're leaving part of your life -- that's really meant so much to me. And you don't know what the future holds," Hammond said.

"So it's kind of bittersweet to say you're going to retire when you really enjoy what you do," he said.

Hammond said he also wants to thank the residents of Coweta County "for allowing me to serve in the capacities in public safety that I have served in.

"It has been a very rewarding experience, and I've enjoyed every minute of it."