Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah Fire Department
History
|
Mt. Pisgah High Class of 1972 sit
on the first fire truck the department purchased. If you look closely you
can see the roof of Emmett Sowell's old store (The first fire station).
Some of the class were members of the fire department. |
Our department began as a dream of many local
men to provide fire protection to the rural communities of "Buffalo"
and "Mt. Pisgah" areas. Back in those days, the closest Fire
Department was in the Town of Kershaw but they would not respond out
to our area. The department was formed on February 5th, 1967. The first three commissioners of the Fire District were Wilson
Ogburn, T.C. Ogburn, and Emmett Sowell. The first Chief was Charlie Wiggins.
The department started with an old fuel tanker converted to a fire
truck but later purchased the Chevrolet C/50 pumper in 1969. Until the current two-bay station was
built in the early 1970's, the department housed equipment and responded from Emmett Sowell's old store (located
across from Mt. Pisgah Elementary, which has since been torn down.)
Later in the 1980's the fire department added
an addition of a second building with four-bay's located next to our two-bay station. On March 16th 2007,
Kershaw County Fire Marshal turned over the Gates Ford Fire
Department to us to run as a substation. Gates Ford was
originally set to be an independent station, but due to lack of
volunteers, the department needed personnel to run it. Gates
Ford Fire Station receives its name from the "Gates Ford" community
named after Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates. Maj. Gen. Gates led his
men through the area and "Forded" the Little Lynches Creek in 1780
headed south to the Battle of Camden. Hence the name Gates
Ford.
On August 8th 2008, we received a new fire engine from the
County. This would have not been possible without our
department coming under the County Fire Services. This engine
is probably the first new engine the department has received since
1969 when it purchased the original Chevrolet engine.
Beginning March 7th 2011, we begin a new service for our
community the medical first responder program. The fire
department now responds to medical calls in our area to provide
basic life support until Paramedics arrive to further evaluate and
transport patients.
The department did not have the paging and radio system of today, and relied on people phoning in fires to J.W. Sowell's Store located at present day intersection of Jones Rd and Mt. Pisgah Rd about 100 yards from the
station. J.W. would respond to the station and his wife would call other members by phone. Later the department
installed a siren to alert members of calls as well. In the 1970's the department used CB radios to communicate.
It would not be until the 1980's until the department had VHF radios and pagers with a dedicated dispatch location.
For a while the department was dispatched by Kershaw Police Department, in Lancaster County, but in the 1990's
the department moved over to Kershaw County Fire channel and began receiving calls directly from Kershaw County
Dispatch.
In June 2004, it was decided upon by the commissioners and members of the department that it was time for a change.
We could no longer provide the services that this community needs on the limited budget of the fire district.
We decided to join the county fire service to help the citizens of our community and help the department provide
better services.
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Old County Council Minutes Through research from the Kershaw County website, we discovered Council Meeting minutes in which the "Buffalo Mt. Pisgah Fire Zone" is referenced to be created. Check them out below: |
|
Past and Present |
|
| Charlie Wiggins | February 1967- ? |
| Mendel Gardner | ? |
| Jackie Vincent | 1972 - December 1977 |
| Johnny Stein | December 1977- June 1995 |
| Jimmy Phillips | May 1996- January 1997 |
| Mark Dunn | January 1997- May 2000 |
| Charles Jenkins | May 2000- August 2000 |
| Ed Schafer | August 2000- December 2001 |
| Mark Dunn | December 2001- November 2002 |
| Randy Bradley | November 2002- December 2003 |
| Billy Sowell | January 2004- December 2004 |
| Les Denkins | January 2005 - June 2009 |
| Chris Jones | June 2009 - |