The Canton Fire Department has lost its Basic Life Support license, but officials are positive it soon will be restored.

Canton Fire Chief Dean Floyd addressed the issue before the Canton City Council at its meeting on Thursday night.

Floyd said the license was revoked because of a format problem with the city's renewal request submitted to the state government

The situation "will be resolved in a very fast manner," Floyd said, adding he anticipates the license will be restored within a month.

"There is no threat to the city of Canton" in the interim, he said. "We are still first-responders."

Floyd said the impact of the decision means city firefighters cannot administer pharmaceuticals or intravenous fluids.

But Canton firefighters "very rarely" do so, he said, as Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services' ambulances also respond to medical emergencies in the city.

"By the time we determine what (a patient) needs, the ambulance is on the scene," Floyd said. "We carry (the equipment) because if we need it, it is there."

Floyd added that even without the license, city fire trucks still are permitted to carry basic equipment to check a patient's airway, breathing and circulation.

Cherokee County Manager Jerry Cooper said Cherokee Fire-ES will work with the city fire department until the licensing issues are resolved.

"We intend to assist the city," Cooper said. "We don't want the residents not to get the services they need."

Danny West, chief of emergency medical services for Cherokee Fire-ES, said the loss of the city's license would have very minimal if any impact on patient care.

The county ambulances arrive on the scene at Canton medical calls before the city fire department's first-responders even are done with the assessment stage, he said. The emergency medical staff on the county ambulances then take over care of the patient.

West said the city still should pursue the reinstatement of its license.

"It is good practice to have that capability and to have it available," he said.

The license loss happened as a result of a change in policy by the Georgia Department of Community Health, which administers them.

Floyd said the fire department in the past has sent a letter to the agency stating the pharmaceuticals on board city vehicles are provided by Cherokee Fire-ES.

The state no longer is accepting such letters for renewals, and instead is requiring an application form be submitted, which the department learned when the license was revoked.

Dr. Jill Mabley, medical director for Cherokee Fire-ES and Region 1 Emergency Medical Services, said by the time the error was found, it was too late for the city to resubmit an application without losing its license.

Dr. Mabley said the license could be restored as quickly as within 10 days.

City Manager Scott Wood described the situation that led to the loss as "bureaucratic resynchronization."

Canton Mayor Gene Hobgood said he wants to make sure the city never finds itself in this position again.

"To me, it is a very serious thing. We need to get it back as soon as possible," he said. "We want our citizens as well protected as possible."