EMERGENCY SERVICES, ZONING & PERMITS
Community safety is a priority in Columbia County. The Sheriff's Department is a function of the County Government with 94 officers on staff. The Sheriff's Department responds to almost 62,000 officer-initiated calls per year. The 1999 total crime index per 100,000 residents was 2,025. The total crime index has decreased by 21% since 1997. The number of crimes reported for the county is compiled from all law enforcement agencies operating in the county.

Columbia County has a class 4 fire rating for the Martinez/Evans area with over 100 full-time and volunteer fighters. There is a Fire Protection Subscription Fee charged to the homeowner at the rate of $1.35 per $1,000 of fair market value of the insurable structure. This fee is in place to fund the operations of the fire department because there is no money collected from the County government. More than half of the Martinez Fire Department is EMT intermediate or Paramedic qualified. Martinez also offers vehicle extraction and fire safety classes for the community.

Each municipality in Columbia County has its own Fire Department. Grovetown has a class 5 fire rating within the city limits and a class 7 fire rating outside the city limits. The fire subscription fee is $25 for the first year and $1.20 per $1000 of fair market value of the insurable structure. There are two stations with over 35 paid and volunteer fighters. The City of Harlem also has a separate fire department. The Appling area has a Class 6 fire rating. The fire subscription fee is $1.10 per $1000 of fair market value of the insurable structure. There are currently 2 stations with 25 volunteers. Plans are underway for the construction of a new station on Columbia Road.

AMBULANCE SERVICES
There are four privately operated ambulance services in Augusta:

• CSRA Ambulance Service
• Gold Cross EMS
• Rural/Metro Ambulance
• Rural Metro Ambulance Service

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
The Emergency Services Division is comprised of EMA, Animal Control, Senior Centers and Public Transit. The Columbia County Emergency Rescue Team, Inc. is a part of EMA with 40 community volunteers.

The call center for 911 is managed 24 hours a day and is staffed with 4 Sheriff Deputies and 1 EMS, working 2 shifts of 6 hours each. 911 gets 41,785 for service annually and has a response time of 8-10 minutes for less than serious calls and 3-4 minutes for code blue calls.

ZONING
Columbia County has zoning ordinances and subdivision design standards. The Planning and Zoning office coordinates these efforts. The Planning and Zoning office provides regulations or structures on mapped streets, public building sites and public open spaces.

The area is divided into District or Zones and are as follows:
   M1 - Light Industrial
   M2 - General Industrial
   CC - Community Commercial District
   C1 - Neighborhood Commercial District
   C2 - General Commercial District
   C3 - Heavy Commercial
   P1 - Professional
   S1 - Special
   PUD - Planned Unit Development
   RA - Residential Agriculture
   R1 - Single Family Residential
   R1A - Single Family Residential District
   R2 & R3 - Single Family Residential District
   R3A - Single and Two Family Residential District
   TR - Townhouse Residential
   AR - Apartment Residential
   R4 - Residential Recreational