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Published on: 06/12/2026

Cookeville receives Municipal League award for Excellence in Fire Services

Members of the Cookeville Fire Department's CIT team, other city officials, local partners, and stakeholders recently gathered to discuss the response program. (Photo by Cookeville)
Members of the Cookeville Fire Department's CIT team, other city officials, local partners, and stakeholders recently gathered to discuss the response program. (Photo by Cookeville)

By partnership with other first responders and local health care providers and advocacy groups, the Cookeville Fire Department has implemented a program aimed at ensuring residents suffering mental health crises receive the services they need.  

Cookeville Fire Department
The ability to divert calls that require crisis intervention to a dedicated team is saving lives in Cookeville, both by giving those in crisis the help they really need and freeing up police and other emergency responders to handle other issues. Since starting in 2024, the co-responders program has handled 400 calls, connecting individuals in need to community resources rather than creating more issues in local jails and emergency rooms. (Photo by Cookeville Fire Department)

In recognition of the success of the Cookeville Fire Department’s Cookeville Community Response (CCR) Program in providing a vital lifeline to residents and their families in times of crisis, the Tennessee Municipal League (TML) is pleased to present the city of Cookeville with an award for Excellence in Fire Services. The award will be presented at the 86th Annual Conference of the Tennessee Municipal League (TML) held at the MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn. 

Too often, emergency calls surrounding individuals suffering from mental health issues result in the individual either in jail or being taken to an emergency room rather than receiving the services and support they need. Partnering with the Cookeville Police Department, city of Cookeville, NAMI Tennessee, and Volunteer Behavioral Health Services, the Cookeville Fire Department is part of an innovative co-responder initiative designed to address mental health and substance-related calls for service. 

The CCR program pairs a licensed mental health clinician with a fire department-based EMT to respond to non-violent behavioral health incidents, providing a specialized and compassionate alternative to traditional emergency responses. This team is sent out to emergency calls in a first-of-its-kind in the region fire department-based model, an approach that is uncommon even among larger municipalities.  

By embedding Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training within the fire department and maintaining in-house CIT instructors, Cookeville has expanded behavioral health response capabilities across all emergency personnel—not just CCR teams. This model increases local government efficiency by ensuring the rights resources are dispatched to the right calls. The coordinated, dispatch-driven triage model ensures non-violent behavioral health incidents are diverted from the traditional EMS and police response, reducing duplication of services 

CITYPartnership
The co-responder model is one of several crisis intervention team (CIT) models that brings in community resources to address issues faced by citizens in crisis. (Photo by NAMI Tennessee)

In addition to freeing law enforcement from time-intensive behavioral calls, the program has reduced jail admissions and incarceration costs, decreased emergency room utilization and EMS transports, lowered strain on the healthcare system, improve response availability, and reduced repeat emergency calls.  

The on-scene access to a trained mental health professional also provides individuals with an assessment, de-escalation stabilization, and direct connection to community resources such as treatment programs, housing assistance, and other support services. The strong emphasis on follow-up care also ensures continuity of  care and repeat system use. All fire department members also receive a level of CIT training to ensure they can help manage behavioral health situations in the field.  

The long-term value of the program includes breaking the cycle of repeated emergency system utilization, particularly for individuals who face complex challenges. Often individuals served by the program face multiple issues such as mental health, substance abuse, housing instability, and histories of trauma. The program provides a humane, specialized, and compassionate approach focused on outcomes for individuals and increasing community trust.  

Most importantly, this innovative, high-impact program is saving lives. Since field operations began in October 2024, the CCR program has responded to 400 calls for service with zero arrests required, demonstrating how mental health issues can be addressed without the criminal justice system. The program also shows that mid-sized cities can create successful co-response programs without large-scale resources.  

The CCR program is scalable, forward-thinking, and a model for public safety in communities across Tennessee, showcasing a unique way to keep citizens safe, make government more efficient, and reduce strain on vital emergency resources. 

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