Fire services in unincorporated areas transition into Chatham County

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Residents across the Coastal Empire call emergency crews when things wrong and beginning today, some will see some changes to how those calls are answered.

Crews who have been fighting fires for Chatham Emergency Services are now official employees of Chatham County. A recent vote approving a $1 fire-station lease program, as well as a $7.3M equipment purchase by the county to keep services existing as they have been.

For the last two years, the county has paid CES through a fee based on a homeowner square footage, which has left some owners feeling burnt.

The fee will remain in place for now, but District 7 Commissioner Dean Kicklighter is still fighting for unincorporated homeowners, business owners, or property owners to not pay a fire fee.

The county is still determining if they will convert the fire fee to a tax or continue to collect it as a fee.