Fire district dedicates new trucks, gets grant

By: | SCNow
Published: May 28, 2008

Members of the Darlington County Fire District converged at Swift Creek Fire Station for two special events Wednesday.

First, they dedicated four new Ford F-350 Brush Trucks. Darlington County Fire District Chief David Williamson said the trucks will give the district the advantage to get off road and into places and conditions that pump trucks are unable to handle.

“We average around 250 brush fire calls a year, so we have a definite need for the trucks,” Williamson said. “Hopefully, this will let us get to these fires before they spread.

“We just want to thank the taxpayers of Darlington County. Without them, this would not have happened. These trucks are much safer to operate and should allow us to stop fires sooner,” he said. “We are really thankful for that. Their tax dollars made this work. We also would like to thank the Darlington County Council.”

The trucks are equipped with Warner winches, as well. One of the trucks already has been used to help stabilize a wrecked car on Interstate 20 on Tuesday, Williamson said.

Tuesday’s second event was the acceptance of a more than $8,000 grant from the Byerly Foundation of Hartsville. The grant will be used jointly by the Darlington County Fire District and the Hartsville Fire Department to put safe, working smoke detectors in the houses of people who might not be able to afford them.

“The goal is to get smoke detectors with 10-year batteries,” Williamson said. “We are going to purchase approximately 1,000 of them. It is our goal to reduce the risk of fatality and loss of life in the area.”

Both departments will cache the detectors and place them in homes as the need arises, Williamson said.