It's

Jack Krakeel Day in Fayette County.

Dignitaries

from local, state and federal government

agencies, including Georgia Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor,

will be on hand for a reception this afternoon

honoring Fayette County's director of Fire and

Emergency Services.

The

reception will be 5-8 p.m. at the County

Administrative Complex, with remarks by

dignitaries at 6:30.

Krakeel

recently was named Fire Chief of the Year by Fire

Chief Magazine.

The

award is based on nominations from national and

state lvel fire services organizations, and

Krakeel was nominated by the International Fire

Chiefs Association, with members in the U.S. and

Canada.

Along

with Taylor, state fire marshal L.C. Cole and

Charley English, director of operations for the

Georgia Emergency Management Agency, will be

present.

Reportedly,

GEMA will use the occasion to announce grants for

construction of fire service facilities in

Fayette, including funds to move fire station one

out from under a dam.

Local

officials have made no secret of their excitement

at Krakeel's receiving the award, which reflects

positively on the county and brings national

attention.

The

Fire Chief of the Year must be "an

exceptional fire chief" and must have made

significant contributions to fire service on a

regional or national basis.

Krakeel

has worked in fire and emergency services for

more than 25 years, 15 of them in Fayette County

as assistant chief and, since 1994, department

director.

Under

his direction, the department has been first more

than once. It was the first fire department in

Georgia to deploy automated external

defibrillators on engine companies and within the

past year has expanded the program county-wide to

include all law enforcement agencies.

The

department also was first in the state to have

career firefighters certified through the

National Professional Qualification System as

Firefighter II. Approximately 65 percent of the

staff are registered nationally as paramedics,

with paramedic certification a requirement for

all officers. Fayette's department is the only

one in Georgia with that level of certification.

Another

first, Fayette's department was the first in

Georgia to enact a sprinkler ordinance for

multifamily dwellings, and to develop a portable

fire safety education home, designed to teach

children how to escape from a burning home.

The

department's Emergency Medical Services also have

been first in Georgia to perform a variety of

advanced procedures, and recently entered into a

partnership with Clayton College and State

University and the University of Maryland to

enhance its paramedics' education for Critical

Care Paramedic certification.

As

a result, the Fayette EMS has received numerous

state, regional and national awards and has

hosted dignitaries from several foreign countries

who want to learn from Fayette's success.

Emergency

management also comes under Krakeel's direction

in Fayette, and the department recently was

recognized by the Federal Emergency Management

Agency for exemplary practices through

development and implementation of the Fayette

County Resource Council. The nonprofit council,

with members from both public and private sector

agencies, is designed to share resources in the

event of a hazardous materials crisis.

Krakeel

also has been involved in numerous local, state,

regional, national and international emergency

services organizations, and has been a primary

speaker at more than 30 conferences. He is past

president of the Metro Atlanta Fire Chiefs

Association, and current chairman of the National

Fire protection Association's Technical Project

in EMS.

Krakeel

also is principle negotiator for the

International Association of Fire Chiefs to the

Health Care Financing Administration's

Negotiational Rulemaking Committee on a National

Ambulance Fee Schedule.

He

is in his third year as a ember of the Board of

Directors of the International Association of

Fire Chiefs, was instrumental in development of

the National Fire Services Accreditation Program,

and is one of ten faculty members for the

Commission on Fire Accreditation International.

He

also has been published in eight professional

publications.

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