Fire



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MISSION STATEMENT      

The Athens Fire Department's purpose is to furnish the best available fire prevention, fire protection, and emergency responses to our citizens and strive to eliminate the loss of life and property in our community.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
                                          Iso logo
             
The Athens Fire Department's has worked hard to provide citizens with an ISO Rating of 2. This low rating helps citizens and businesses save money on the purchase of their fire insurance


Quick Reference Guide 
Maltese Cross I need a Burn Permit 

Maltese Cross I need a Fire Report                                                                                                        

Maltese Cross  CPR \ First Aid training classes 

Maltese Cross Can a Fire Engine visit my School, Church, or civic event?   

Maltese Cross Can I receive free smoke detectors?

Maltese Cross  Public Fire Extinguisher training                                                                 

Maltese Cross Schedule a Fire Station tour!

   

Truck 1
CHECKOUT OUR TRUCKS
See all of the Fire Apparatus the city uses to keep you safe

Fire Department Headquarters-Station 1
CHECKOUT OUR FIRE STATIONS
Make an appointment and come check out our Fire Stations.


Chief Photo 2

Fir
e Chief
Brandon Ainsworth

City of Athens Fire Department, Chief Brandon Ainsworth has served in the fire service in McMinn County for over 20-years.  He is responsible for overall strategic leadership to ensure the department is well positioned to provide the best service to the citizens and visitors of the community. To accomplish this, the Chief leads 3 shifts of 23 fulltime members and 12 volunteers assigned to 2 fire stations providing a broad range of fire and emergency services to the community.

Chief Ainsworth began his fire service career as a volunteer firefighter for the Riceville Volunteer Fire Department in July 2000.  He is currently still an active member of the volunteer fire service in McMinn County.  Chief Ainsworth was hired as a fulltime firefighter for the City of Athens Fire Department in 2005.  He was promoted to Fire Engineer in 2010 and served as a Fire Engineer 5 years out of Fire Station 1.  In 2015 he was promoted to Fire Captain as shift supervisor on A-Shift.  Chief Ainsworth served in this role until being selected as Fire Chief to lead the City of Athens Fire Department in August 2018.  He carries numerous certifications from the Tennessee Fire and Codes Academy and Tennessee Commission on Firefighting.

During his tenure as Fire Chief, he has focused his efforts on creating a culture of inclusiveness, respect, and teamwork; health, safety, and transparency for Fire personnel; and building a constructive relationship between career and volunteer agencies to initiate changes in departments approach regarding relationships between the City of Athens Fire Department and surrounding agencies.  Additionally, he has focused on training, response readiness, strategic planning, organizational culture, and the department’s community-focused mission by establishing a First Response program.  He has successfully restructured the department’s organizational structure establishing the position Battalion Chief as shift supervisor and Captain as company officer.  During this process, he was successful establishing a new position for the department’s first Deputy Fire Chief.

Most importantly, Chief Ainsworth is the proud husband to Brittany and father of two beautiful daughters.  He enjoys family time, camping hunting, fishing, and being outdoors.  He claims his blood type is orange based in his passion for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. 

Chief Ainsworth is interested in improving service levels to ensure the department’s response capabilities match the City’s emergency service demands while using data and metrics to measure operational performance.  Additionally, the Chief is seeking to grow the department with the community to meet the requirements of NFPA 1710 by increasing staffing and station needs.