WINNSBORO – Long an advocate for full staffing of Fairfield County’s fire stations, County Councilwoman Peggy Swearingen has said more than once: “If you live in western Fairfield County and your house catches on fire, it’s going to burn down.”
While he doesn’t agree with Swearingen’s assessment, Fairfield County Fire Chief Jamie Webb says the county is in desperate need of volunteer firefighters to supplement the six full-time and one part-time paid firefighters.
“We have fewer than 90 volunteer firefighters right now,” Webb said. “We need at least twice that many to adequately man the county’s 15 fire stations.”
Webb says there are only six full-time firefighters and one part-time. Of the 15 stations only six – Community, Greenbrier, Mitford, Jenkinsville, Ridgeway, and Dutchman Creek – have an assigned paid firefighter, and that’s only from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. An additional station – Lebanon – is manned by a paid firefighter from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., but for only two or three days of the week.
Unmanned Stations
That leaves eight stations unmanned.
“The advantage of having a paid firefighter at a station,” Webb says, “is that when a call comes in, that firefighter can immediately drive the firetruck to the call where it is joined by the volunteer firefighters assigned to that station. That saves a lot of time.”
The eight stations that have no one manning them on any day of the week, depend on volunteers assigned to that station. When a call comes in to one of the unmanned stations, a volunteer assigned to that station has to first travel to the station and then drive the truck to the call.
It gets worse. Four of the 15 stations are actually substations that have neither paid nor volunteer firefighters assigned to them. Those substations depend on volunteers assigned to other stations to answer their calls, Webb says.
“We clearly have a great need for paid and volunteer firefighters and would appreciate any help we can get to protect our community,” says Webb, who’s been part of the fire service for 21 years.
“Back when I started volunteering, the county had over 150 volunteer firefighters,” he recalls. “Now it has fewer than 90.”
Nationwide Problem
“It’s not just a Fairfield problem,” he says. “There’s a lack of volunteer firefighters statewide and nationwide. One reason is that people no longer work close enough to home or are not able to leave work to go on calls like in the old days,” he says. “Also, now, there’s training and other time requirements. The number of people volunteering is just steadily decreasing.
“And the volunteers we’ve had for a long time are getting older and can’t do what they used to do,” Webb says.
He says there’s also been a shift in who’s signing up to volunteer, with a noticeable lack of young people in their late teens, 20s, and 30s – the age group that has historically volunteered for the fire service
Benefits of Volunteering
Webb wants to get the word out that the county provides a great opportunity for anyone who wants to become a volunteer firefighter.
“The training – equipment, classes, required books and learning materials – is provided free of charge,” Webb says.
Webb points out that volunteer firefighters also receive an annual stipend (anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars), based on how many points they’ve earned by responding to calls and attending training. Volunteer firefighters can also qualify for a tax deduction.
“Being a firefighter – paid or volunteer – is one of the most rewarding jobs you can have,” he says, “just knowing that you’re helping somebody on what could be the worst day of their life.”
Webb says there’s also a junior firefighter program that enables young people to complete their training beginning at age 16 and become full-fledged firefighters by the age of 18.
Teens, Women Included
“We’re open to anybody willing to volunteer,” he says, and I’m not talking about just men. We have 19 female volunteers, 1 female fulltime firefighter and they’re some of the best.”
For anyone interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter, Webb says the first step is to fill out a form that enables a background check to be run.
After passing the background check, a physical is required that’s paid for by the fire service and includes things like an exercise stress test and blood work to ensure that the prospective volunteer is healthy and physically able to do the job.
Training
After completing the initial training, volunteer firefighters must attend a certain number of additional trainings and call responses each year.
Not all calls are fire calls. In 2023, based on call data, the fire service received 1,395 total calls, but just 168 of those (12 percent) were for fires: 23 were building fires and the remainder were cooking fires, vehicle fires, woods and brush fires.
A larger number (43 percent) of the calls were medical calls, and 242 (18 percent) were service calls to install smoke alarms that are provided free for homeowners through a county program.
“Firefighters do a lot of jobs and wear many hats,” Webb says. “And volunteers can specialize – they can choose to go just on medical calls, drive and operate a fire truck, or direct traffic at the scene. We have plenty of very important functions that do not involve fighting a fire.”
Webb emphasizes, however, that the county does desperately need people who can show up to fight a fire.
Anyone with questions can reach out to the Fairfield County’s fire service’s main office, located at 880 West Moultrie Street in Winnsboro, on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., or call (803) 712-1070. Applications can be filled out electronically or in person, and more information can be found online at https://www.fairfieldsc.com/departments/fire-service/.
