Deputy Chief

Allen McCullough of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency

Services has been nominated for a prestigious statewide award program

operated by Gov. Roy Barnes.

McCullough

is one of 75 people across Georgia nominated for the third annual Governor's

Public Safety Awards. The winners will be announced at an Oct. 25 ceremony

at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth.

Honorees will

have their names engraved into a special monument at the center. Last

year, 23 public safety officials received this special award.

Officials from

the American Heart Association nominated McCullough for the Outstanding

Contribution to Profession category. He was specifically cited for his

support of a statewide movement to place automatic external defibrillators

(AEDs) in first-response vehicles such as police cars and fire trucks.

AEDs are used

along with CPR to help patients suffering cardiac arrest. The devices

can automatically deliver a shock if needed to restore a patient's normal

heart rhythm.

AEDs, which

are in many local police cars and fire engines, are used before EMTs can

get on the scene to render assistance. That helps since those vehicles

get to a scene typically one or two minutes before ambulances can, said

FCDFES Capt. Pete Nelms.

"Fayette

County has had a great success rate with AEDs," said John Smiles,

a spokesman for the AHA.

Not only has

McCullough spearheaded the implementation of AEDs here in Fayette County,

he has written grants for other cities in Georgia who have done the same

thing, Smiles said.

"It's

just him being a good citizen," Smiles said of McCullough's work

for the AHA. McCullough serves as the AHA's primary spokesperson for AED

programs and he also helped write state legislation that helps keep good

samaritan rescuers from being sued for their efforts, Smiles added.

Smiles considers

McCullough "the expert" on the subject of AED usage and implementation.

"He has

been instrumental in securing additional funds," Smiles said, estimating

that McCullough's grant writing skills have led to over $300,000 for AED

programs throughout the state.

McCullough,

who was not available for an interview at press time, has estimated that

the AEDs in Fayette County have increased the rate of lives saved by 20

percent, Nelms said.

Now that police

vehicles and fire engines in Fayette County have AEDs, the push will soon

be on to add the life-saving devices to industrial plants, shopping centers,

large businesses and other sizeable public places, Nelms said.

"We're

not going to stop here," Nelms said, adding that the Local Emergency

Planning Committee (LEPC) will soon pitch the usage of the AEDs to local

industries.

The AHA wants

to reduce the death rate from cardiac arrests and strokes by 25 percent

certainly helped work toward that goal, Smiles added.

"He's

a wonderful spokesperson for us," Smiles said. "He certainly

plays a role any time we try to put the AED program into other markets

and cities."