‘Thank you, Chief’: Lakeland bids farewell to Gary Yeomans after 39 years; community hails his service and hands-on leadership
By Carol A. Gasser Moore |
LAKELAND, Lanier County, Ga. — Gary Yeomans, the steady hand behind Lakeland’s fire service for more than three decades, retired this week, and the city is saying a grateful goodbye. Residents and business owners praised the longtime chief for dependable fire protection, constant upgrades in safety and communications—and for rolling up his sleeves to help raise the money and fully fund the Emergency Command quarters beside the main station, a project completed with local donations and Yeomans’ own labor.
Yeomans joined the fire service in 1986, became chief in 1998, and retired as chief on September 2, 2025. He said he plans to continue serving as a city volunteer firefighter through the end of the year. “I have served 39 years and counting,” Yeomans said.
A career built on community
Supporters credit Yeomans with keeping Lakeland’s focus on practical readiness—modern protective gear, better radios, and strong ties with neighboring departments—while never losing sight of the community that makes it all possible. The Emergency Command quarters project has become a favorite example: local citizens contributed, and Yeomans himself put in the sweat equity, along with area firefighters, turning a wish list into a working asset for incident command and storm response, and fire and rescue safety education.
Over the years, the department invested in safer equipment and improved coverage. In 2025, Lakeland fielded new self-contained breathing apparatus for volunteers and secured a state “fireworks” grant to bolster readiness. Yeomans championed the new emergency communications tower on N. Highway 221, calling it “ideal” for reliable countywide contact—especially during major events. He also led incident command on significant responses, including the 2020 fire that destroyed businesses at the Old Butcher Shop Plaza, and helped guide interagency wildfire planning.
What the city–county split means
At the December 2024 county meeting, commissioners voted to end the two-decade arrangement that combined city and county fire services—a partnership that had helped lower the county’s ISO insurance rating, since the majority of fires occur in Lanier County and not within Lakeland or the annexed Ray City limits within Lanier County. Yeomans outlined the state-regulated steps now underway:
- Paperwork was been filed to close the joint Lakeland/Lanier department and re-open the city department as Lakeland Fire & Rescue in December 2024.
- Lanier County is submitted its own filings to re-open seven county stations under a name it selected.
- The Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council inspected stations and rosters and issued new compliance certificates.
One open question is insurance. As the state notified ISO about the shutdown and creation of two new departments, Yeomans noted ISO could treat the change as a reset. If that happens, the area’s rating could temporarily revert to a Class 10 until ISO completes new evaluations—potentially increasing premiums—though fire coverage will continue throughout. A new ISO evaluation is set for September 2025. As a combined fire department, Lanier County enjoyed an ISO rating of 6x.
An era ends—gratitude remains
City officials had not named an interim or next chief as of press time. What’s certain is the sentiment around town: appreciation. From storefronts to front porches, residents credit Yeomans with a culture of readiness and service—one built on careful budgeting, relentless grant-seeking, and the kind of community partnership that can fund an Emergency Command center and still leave money for new air packs.
For the firefighters he led, Yeomans leaves a clear template: invest in safety, build partnerships, and let the work speak for itself.
Have reflections or photos from Chief Yeomans’ years of service? Share them with the News for a follow-up tribute.
Thanks for your service Chief. And thanks to for helping me as a firefighter and as my short time as Lakeland station chief thanks for the opportunity and the friendship through the years but we put in our time as Firefighters. Enjoy your Retirement and may the lord bless you with many days of retirement. THANKS AGAIN
Your comments are very much appreciated and it certainly is affirming to Chief Yeomans and his four decades of service! The Lanier County News thanks allf first responders for their service! Thank you for caring!! The Lanier County News proudly shares your comment and appreciates your readership!
The word “serve” describes my friend, Gary Yeomans, perfectly. I can’t imagine not seeing one of Gary Yeomans’ vehicles at the Fire Station. He was there, day or night, maintaining or repairing equipment, cleaning, researching grants, anything that needed doing for many, many years. As a member of the “fire department family” for about 20 years, I am aware of some of the times he was doing things like taking two surplus vehicles that had been donated by Moody AFB or the Forestry Department, and actually taking them apart and putting one piece onto another to make a doggone fine pumper that the City and County couldn’t afford to buy at the time, but was needed to service the community. I’m also aware that Gary is the last of “the old crew” that served with my husband, Ronald. This makes me sad. That group of men gave it their all. Dean Noles, Wayne Faulkner, John Pruitt, Jim Kelly, Randy Patten, BJ Davis, Scott Fountain, Abe Kimbrough, Hank Obester…they were the ones that started putting the Christmas tree in Lake Irma every year, and boy, I’ve got some (now) funny stories about that! They put Santa on the fire in the Christmas parade. They did things like placing “dry pumps” throughout the county in order to use farm ponds to pump water and fill tankers if needed before we had fire stations in those areas. And Gary and these guys were on the scene every time there was a wreck, most ambulance calls, and some very unusual and unpleasant incidents involving deaths. They did it all without question, and getting $20 a call for gas money.
Gary has also been the one that has interacted with local government officials involving the needs and concerns of the Department. The officials may have changed through the years, but Gary’s feelings of responsibility and concern for the people of Lakeland and Lanier County and our safety haven’t changed. And he’s been directly responsible for homeowners insurance costs going down in years past by getting our Department in compliance for the ISO Ratings to be lower than they have ever been. And by being here in town, he is usually the first on the scene if there is a fire, accident, or other reason that the fire department is called out. He often saved the City and County money by taking care of the situation himself or by limiting the number of personnel that respond.
Gary, there are no words to tell you how much you are and have been appreciated throughout the years by myself and my family. You and Lori are family because of being brought together by the fire department. We were all once a close knit, tight family that got together often with our EMS and LEO friends and theirs spouses, who were also like family. We’ve lost so many, and times have changed, but I wish you only the very best in your retirement. Start putting miles on that fancy travel trailer you designed and have fun! Thank you so much for all the years of service and for the memories. God bless you. With much love and respect, on behalf of the original 703…703 1/2. Debbie
What a WONDERFUL tribute! Thank you for sharing! Also, thank you for reading!