Four Cherokee Firefighters Complete Basic Law Enforcement Training

Press release from Cherokee County Fire:

Dec. 19, 2022

Four Cherokee County firefighters graduated from Basic Law Enforcement Training which was taught at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center – Pickens campus. The graduation took place at 11:00 a.m. at Jasper United Methodist Church after three months of training. Three of these firefighters serve as SWAT Medics in conjunction with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team and one of these firefighters is a Cherokee County Fire Investigator.

The firefighters completing this training included Battalion Chief Scott Gwinn, Lieutenant Joe El Bisi, Sergeant Brandon Barton, and FAO Megan Hamilton.

At the graduation today, Sgt. Brandon Barton, who served as the class president for the training course, spoke to the attendees about living a life of legacy. He referenced the legacy that late Firefighter Chuck McCormick left behind after dying in the line of duty. A legacy of being a great father, husband, and friend. Barton challenged his classmates to think about what their legacy would be if they were suddenly taken from this earth.

The instructors of the class presented two awards at the ceremony today, both of which were earned by members of Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services. The award for highest Academic Achievement was presented to Sgt. Brandon Barton, who had completed the program with a 98.94% grade average. The second award was for Top Shot which was presented to Chief Scott Gwinn who completed his firearms evaluation with 98.67% accuracy.

After the graduation, Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds swore these firefighters in as Sheriff’s Deputies with the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office at Public Safety Headquarters. The Sheriff spoke to attendees about the long working relationship between the Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department in Cherokee County and how he was proud of the advancements the two agencies had made over the years.

Fire Chief Eddie Robinson spoke to the group about how proud he was to have our SWAT medics and Fire Investigator Hamilton certified in Basic Law Enforcement Training and how this would allow our fire department to serve the citizens of Cherokee County at a higher level.
After the firefighters were sworn in as deputies, the graduates were presented with their credentials and Cherokee Fire Investigator Ashely Pope presented FAO Megan Hamilton with her Fire Investigator badge.

This press release was produced by Cherokee County Fire. The views expressed here are the author's own.