2017-2018 Bill 3568 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 25, 2017) - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 10 11 TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE FAITHFUL 12 COMMITMENT OF THE FIREFIGHTERS OF THE 13 BUFFALOMT. PISGAH FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT AND 14 TO CELEBRATE WITH THEM A HALF CENTURY OF THE 15 DEPARTMENT’S DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE 16 COMMUNITIES OF BUFFALO AND MT. PISGAH. 17 18 Whereas, before BuffaloMt. Pisgah Fire Protection District was 19 formed, neither Buffalo nor Mt. Pisgah enjoyed the safety of 20 having a fire department to respond to needs in the community; 21 and 22 23 Whereas, on February 5, 1967, BuffaloMt. Pisgah Fire Protection 24 District formed as an independent South Carolina Special Purpose 25 District to service two rural communities. It was housed at the 26 intersection of presentday Jones and Mt. Pisgah Roads in the store 27 of Emmett Sowell, one of the district’s first commissioners, along 28 with Edward Baker and T. C. Ogburn. Charlie Wiggins served as 29 the first chief; and 30 31 Whereas, the first fire truck was an old fuel tanker converted for 32 the department’s use. In 1969, the district purchased a Chevrolet 33 C/50 pumper, and by the early 1970s, Kershaw County had 34 constructed a twobay station at the present site on Mt. Pisgah 35 Road; and 36 37 Whereas, without a modern paging and radio system, the station 38 depended on residents to report a fire by calling J. W. Sowell’s 39 Store, which was about one hundred yards from the new station, 40 and Mr. Sowell would relay the information to the station while his 41 wife called other members of the department on the phone; and 42

[3568] 1 1 Whereas, a siren was installed later to alert members to calls, and 2 in the 1970s, the department began communicating on CB radios. 3 In the 1980s, the department adopted the use of VHF radios and 4 pagers with a dedicated dispatch location at the Kershaw Police 5 Department in Lancaster County. The 1990s would see the 6 department begin using the Kershaw County Dispatch E-911 7 system; and 8 9 Whereas, the commissioners and members of the department 10 decided to join the county fire service in order to provide better 11 service to its residents. By 2007, the Kershaw County Fire 12 Marshal relinquished the Gates Ford Fire Department, 13 experiencing a lack of volunteers, to the BuffaloMt. Pisgah Fire 14 Protection District; and 15 16 Whereas, a year and a half later, the department received a new 17 fire truck from the county, probably the first new engine the 18 department had received since 1969; and 19 20 Whereas, 2010 and 2016 each brought a reduction in the 21 department’s ISO rating, which helps to reduce insurance 22 premiums for structures in the community of both stations; and 23 24 Whereas, in order for the department to respond to medical needs 25 in the community, a medical firstresponder program was added in 26 2011, but in 2012 the ambulance that had been converted for use 27 as a service/rescue truck had to be retired; and 28 29 Whereas, the community helped to raise funds to purchase a 2012 30 Ford F350 chassis, and the department purchased a Knapheide 31 custom rescue body to fit the chassis. The new service/rescue 32 truck was operational within six months of the loss of the other 33 truck; and 34 35 Whereas, in 2014, Kershaw County Fire Service purchased a new 36 tanker for the department with a 2,100gallon water tank able to 37 dispense 500 gallons a minute and equipped with an electric dump 38 and a swiveldump chute for dumping water from three sides; and 39 40 Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly is deeply indebted 41 to the first responders throughout our State and values the heroic 42 dedication of the members of the BuffaloMt. Pisgah Fire 43 Protection District as they reach the benchmark of five decades of

[3568] 2 1 outstanding service to the citizens of their community. Now, 2 therefore, 3 4 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate 5 concurring: 6 7 That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this 8 resolution, recognize and honor the faithful commitment of the 9 firefighters of the BuffaloMt. Pisgah Fire Protection District and 10 celebrate with them a half century of the department’s dedicated 11 service to the communities of Buffalo and Mt. Pisgah. 12 XX 13

[3568] 3