By Joe Johnson
Barrow County Emergency Services is in the process of rebranding itself as the Barrow County Fire Department.
The move was announced by BCFD Thursday on its Facebook page, and it was explained that the change was prompted by the privatization of emergency medical services. and the county's E-911 becoming a separate division.
"We felt it was time for a more traditional look," Fire Chief Alan Shuman said in the post.
Officials said stakeholders with the department have been meeting over the past two years, deciding on the new name and creating new logos and patches.
“This included looking at several designs of patches and logos, re-examining the wording of our mission statement and core values," Deputy Chief Brett Skinner said. "The primary focus was to bring us back to a brand that showed the rich history and tradition of the Barrow County community and the fire department.”
With that work completed, the department is now moving into the implementation phase of the rebrand.
"This process will not change the services or level of care currently provided by our fire personnel," Thursday's post said. "As we continue, we will evaluate the implementation and continue pushing out the branding to include a new look on our fire trucks and other departmental vehicles."
Department officials said they will continue to monitor feedback from stakeholders throughout the rebranding process.