These early firefighters wanted to serve the citizens better. In this regard we haven't changed in the present. Moving through the ranks in pre Merit System days seemed some what arbitrary. A firefighter who wanted to become assistant driver trained on a garbage truck. Today recruits are trained for approximately four months before they reach the field.
Promotion is attained through education, experience, and testing.
In 1971 a group of concerned citizens and several ambulance company owners complained to the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners about the inadequacy of ambulance service in DeKalb County. Plagued by extended response times and poorly trained personnel the present system of private ambulance companies offered little hope of a viable service without local government intervention. The group called on the county to provide financial assistance to the private firms along with a county ordinance establishing requirements for ambulance equipment and personnel training for emergency medical programs operating within DeKalb County. Establish ambulance service quality requirements in terms of the degree of first-aid and paramedic service to be rendered. After further consultation with the private ambulance companies already serving DeKalb County a grim pictured developed.