Does Dunwoody Need Its Own Fire Department?

Dunwoody is facing rising county taxes for fire protection. Partly because of that, Dunwoody officials have broached the idea of creating their own fire department.

Make no mistake, the reality of any Dunwoody FD is a long ways off. A long way.

There's no financial analysis (although its currently being prepared) and it's unclear if Dunwoody would need to partner with other municipalities to make it an economic reality.

In short, there's way more questions than answers.

Councilman Doug Thompson, saying he was not ready to yet pull the trigger on a Dunwoody FD at a recent council meeting said this, "If you look at it - where it's trending - are the taxpayers of the city of Dunwoody willing to be better served by being with the city of Dunwoody or DeKalb County Fire for the next 20 years?"

"Guys, it's starting to point to us," he said.

Councilman Terry Nall also brought up a cogent point. Dunwoody is no longer a part of DeKalb when it comes to many dealings. Recently, a fire rescue team from DeKalb was moved from Roberts Drive - in the heart of Dunwoody - to elsewhere in DeKalb County.

What does that mean? Potentially, worse response times for Dunwoodyians - pretyy sure that's a smart word. Response times are the cornerstone of medical response. In heart attack situations and other medical emergencies they can be critical to life, officials say.

So, what do you think? Should Dunwoody go its own way and run the financial risk of its own fire department? Is DeKalb serving the city well? Is a fire department a natural extension of city services?

Let us know in comments below.