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9-12-11:
Last year, the Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah Fire Department was
awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant to enhance water supply by
upgrading supply hose and purchasing TurboDraft appliances. Due to
the competitive bid process, the cost of the equipment came in under
budget and we had an excess of around $2,300.00. It was decided by
the members that we would use the excess funds to put toward a
community wide fire safety and prevention project.
We are pleased to announce that we have been approved to use the excess funding to purchase 10 year smoke detectors for our community. Our goal is to provide smoke detectors to families who don’t have operating detectors and cannot afford to buy them. According to NFPA, nearly 40% of home fire deaths in the U.S. occur where smoke detectors are not present, while nearly 20% of the deaths occur where smoke detectors are present but not working. We hope to change these statistics by giving away and installing smoke detectors at no cost to the community. The guidelines are as follows:
We will be coordinating delivery and installation through an online signup form. Visit our website at www.bmfire.com/detectors to fill out the form. If you do not have internet access you can also call the fire department and leave a message at 803-475-3711. Please speak slowly and clearly leaving your name, address and a contact phone number. |
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2-26-11: First Responder Training After 48 hours of classroom instruction and practical training, 12 volunteers of the Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah Fire Department are now trained as Medical First Responders. From the beginning in 1967, the Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah Fire Department was established for fire protection. Over the years, the community has come to depend upon the fire department to respond to fires, wrecks, hazardous material scenes, and more. This is a growing trend nationwide where fire departments are called upon to do more and more for the community. In the last two years, we have taken on a Fire/Rescue role and began providing vehicle extrication services at wrecks after receiving a grant for the required equipment. Now we have further expanded on that role to include response to medical emergencies at homes and businesses in our fire district. Prior to the first responder training, the fire department did not respond to medical emergencies unless requested by EMS. Now our goal is to have a trained medical first responder from the fire department on scene within 5-10 minutes to locations in the Abney, Buffalo, Gates Ford, Mt, Pisgah, and Timrod communities. Our job will be to provide life saving measures and patient assessment until KershawHealth paramedics arrive to further evaluate and transport the patients. Studies have shown that medical assistance provided within the first 10 minutes of an emergency can greatly impact the outcome of the situation. “I would like to recognize and thank our volunteers for taking the time to attend this training and for stepping up to help the people in our community. We are excited to begin this new service in our response area”, said Chief Chris Jones. “Also, I would like to thank Training Officer Russell Ferguson and other KershawHealth staff for coordinating and providing the training.” |
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12-24-10: $25,080 FEMA grant awarded Kershaw, SC: Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah Fire Department has been awarded a $25,080 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. The department will utilize this funding to purchase updated water supply hose and TurboDraft appliances. Currently the department utilizes 2 ˝ inch supply hoses, some of which are over 30 years old. This grant will allow us to replace all this hose with newer 5 inch supply hose. Also, this will give the department better interoperability with fire stations in neighboring counties. Because of limited availability of fire hydrants, the department frequently utilizes private ponds or other static water sources. Some of those water sources have large embankments or other obstructions which make them hard to reach. With the purchase of the TurboDraft devices, the department will be able to better access the water sources. The TurboDraft will provide adequate draft up to 200 feet away. |
| 10-27-10: We received notification that our ISO rating will drop to a 7/10 effective February 1st 2011. This will cover all homes and businesses that are within 5 road miles of our two stations. Please contact your insurance company for further details. |
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6-29-10: Cylinder fill
station/Compressor system was delivered today to the fire
department. This system was purchased by a FEMA grant.
Cost: $40,000.00
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| 4-26-10: Gates Ford Brush Truck is now in service for the Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah/Gates Ford areas. This project would NOT have been possible without the community support we received. We are very thankful for your donations for getting this brush truck equipped. |
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1-29-10: $49,000 FEMA grant awarded Kershaw, SC: Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah Fire Department has been awarded a $49,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. The department will utilize this funding to purchase a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus cylinder fill station with compressor and a thermal imaging camera. The fill-station and compressor will allow the department to refill our breathing apparatus cylinders after returning from calls or after using them during training. Currently, the department has to take the cylinders to another fire station to be refilled. This takes extra travel time and takes the volunteers longer to get equipment back in service. The grant will also allow our firefighters to participate in more realistic training without depleting our air supply. Also, other neighboring fire stations will be able to bring their cylinders to be refilled at our station if needed. The thermal imaging camera will be installed in the engine at Gates Ford Fire Station. This is a camera that can be used to seek out hidden fires, see through smoke to locate victims, help locate lost persons in wooded areas, and many other tasks. It uses thermal imaging technology to detect the heat given off by objects. “This grant allows us to enhance the services we already provide and ensure we are prepared for the next call.” “We are honored that our application was chosen for the award.” said Chief Chris Jones. |
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1-24-10: Special Recognition service
for First Responders at Buffalo Baptist Church. See Video
excerpt below:
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10-12-09: Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah
Fire Department has received a $2,000 donation from the John T.
Stevens Foundation of Kershaw, SC. The department has utilized this
funding to purchase an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). An
AED is designed to “shock” the heart of a cardiac arrest patient
back into normal rhythm. Studies have shown that every 1 ˝ minutes
in the United States someone dies due to sudden cardiac arrest. The
only way to improve this is to have early access to an AED. Every
minute that a person in cardiac arrest goes without being
successfully treated (by defibrillation), the chance of survival
decreases by 10 percent.
“We appreciate the Stevens Foundation considering us for this donation; this AED unit will allow the fire department to respond quickly and treat patients who are in cardiac arrest.” said Chief Chris Jones. |
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10-1-09: Mr. Grady
Newman and Members
of the Red Oak Camp Chapter of the Woodmen of the World present
Chief Chris Jones with a check for $150.00. The fire
department thanks the members and is very appreciative of the
donation. |
| 6-13-09: Congratulations to Chris Jones and Bryan Horton for completing NFPA Firefighter II training. This brings our total to 3 firefighters who are certified to NFPA Firefighter II Level. We appreciate their dedication and willingness to further their training. |
| 5-1-09: Congratulations to Chris Jones, Jamie Catoe, and Bryan Horton for completing NFPA Firefighter I training. This brings our total to 5 firefighters who are certified to NFPA Firefighter I Level. We appreciate their dedication and willingness to further their training. |
| 11-6-08: Gates Ford Brush Truck has been painted and lettered. We still need to raise more funds to equip the truck with the needed tank and pump. See photos here |
| 10-3-08: Most of our extrication equipment has arrived, click here to view photos. |
| 8-8-08 New Truck Received: Today our new truck was delivered to the fire department. It is a 2008 Kenworth/KME Pumper. See Photos here |
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8-4-08 $35,000
GRANT AWARDED FOR EXTRICATION EQUIPMENT
KERSHAW, SC:
Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah Fire Department has received a $35,000 grant from
the State of South Carolina through the Competitive Grant Program.
The department will utilize this funding to purchase extrication
tools (Jaws of Life). The extrication tools will enable the
department to provide extrication rescue services to the Buffalo-Mt.
Pisgah/Gates Ford areas and any adjoining fire districts if needed.
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| 6-27-08 - Received notification that we received funding through a grant program for extrication equipment. We will be contacting vendors and setting up some demo's to decide on the type tools we will purchase. |
| 5-5-08 - Received replacement pumper for our 1975 Ford Pumper. It is a 2000 model GMC Pumper, top mount pump - 1250 GPM, 1000 Gal tank. See photo here |
| 1/4/08 - Notified that we have received a $1500 VFA Grant. The grant will be used to purchase 10 sets of Wildland Gear to be used on woods and brush fires. |
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11/27/07 - Kershaw County Council
approved the bid for our new pumper for the Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah
Station. It will be mounted on a Kenworth Chassis, 1000 GPM
Pump, 1000 Gallon Tank, Top Mounted Pump with ladders and pike poles
stored "through the tank". The pumper will be delivered around August-September of 2008 |
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11/5/07 - 2008 Officers:
Chief - Les Denkins |
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10/10/07 - $6,500 donation from
Stevens foundation
“We appreciate the Stevens Foundation considering us for this donation; this camera will be a lifesaver in many ways for the Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah and Gates Ford communities.” said Chief Les Denkins. With the addition of this camera to Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah, currently only six out of twelve stations have thermal imaging cameras in the rural fire services of Kershaw County. |
| 3/16/07 - Effective 3/16/07 we are now over the Gates Ford Fire Department station on Hwy 341. We are happy to help this station get started and to protect the Gates Ford area. |
| 1/1/07 - We were notified we received a VFA Grant for Radios. We have purchased two Motorola HT1550 Portable radios. |
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11/6/06 - We held our annual
elections, Officers for 2007: Chief - Les Denkins Treasurer - Patrick Vincent |
| 10/28/06 - We also visited Buffalo Baptist Church for their fall festival and did a safety presentation with the fire safety house. It was also a great success. |
| 10/20/06 - We brought out the City Of Camden Fire Department safety house for a demonstration at the Mt. Pisgah Elementary School fall festival. It was a great success and the kids seemed to enjoy it. |
| 6/30/06 - For our fundraising efforts we sent out letters to the community asking for a $25.00 donation. The community has shown great support, we appreciate the community backing us so well. To date we have received around $4,210.00 in donations. Many people sent $50 and $100 donations. Thanks for your support!!! |
| 4/14/06 - See pictures of the ambulance we recently acquired. It will be converted into our service truck. |
| 3/4/06 - Received VFA grant from Forestry for $796. We will be replacing two of our truck radios. |
| 1/10/06 - We received our 2500 gallon replacement tanker. It is a 1980's Model White/Volvo. See pictures under Apparatus |
| 1/1/06 - We have completed the 2005 year with a total of 72 calls. See the rundown here. |
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12/17/05 -
We held our annual Fire Department dinner. See our
photos and
awards given . |
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11/7/05 -
We held annual elections tonight for positions, these will take
affect immediately:
Chief - Les Denkins |
| 8/27/05 - Soon we will be getting an addition to our apparatus. We will be phasing out our 1977 Tanker for an mid 1980's Tanker from KC Fire Service. It will hold 2500 gallons of water, more than double our capacity on the current tanker. |
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6/10 - 6/11/05 - We held a spaghetti dinner. It was a great success. We appreciate all the support from IGA, Smalls, and 521 Grill in Kershaw. |
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11/08/04 -
Elections were held for 2005 Officers
Chief - Les Denkins Asst. Chief - Chris Jones 1st Captain - Randy Bradley 2nd Captain - Patrick Vincent 1st Lieutenant - James Smith 2nd Lieutenant - Jamie Catoe 3rd Lt./Safety - Brandon Price |
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9/03/04 - We have finally got all the work completed
on our "new" brush truck. We put in many man hours getting the truck equipped with the pump, tank, lights,
and siren. Signs Unlimited in Lugoff did the lettering on our truck.
Check out the pictures here
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| 7/18/04 - County Council has approved the final ordinance. We are now set to join the county fire service as soon as the contract has been drawn up and signed. |
| 6/17/04 - We've recently added to our fleet. We purchased a 1999 Chevrolet 2500 Pickup Truck to replace our 1977 Dodge that was loaned to us by forestry. See the before picture here. When our conversion of this truck into a brush truck is complete, we will add the pictures onto the site. |
| 05/21/04 - The board of commissioners, the officers, and the members have decided to start the process of being incorporated into the Kershaw County Fire Service. Costs keep rising and we are getting no where fast as we stand now. Going in the County Fire System will allow us to receive newer apparatus and better equipment to use. The fire department will still be in the same location, run by the same people, and none of our equipment will be taken away unless it will be replaced by something better. We are asking the community to support this decision because it will allow us to better serve the community, lower taxes, and eventually help us to lower homeowner insurance ratings. At this point we have to figure out what legal steps we must take, and at that time it will be publicized. |
| 03/01/04 - Congrats to Jamie Catoe, James Smith, and Brandon Price on their promotions. Jamie is 1st Lieutenant, James 2nd Lieutenant, and Brandon 3rd Lieutenant/Safety Ofc. |
| 12/06/03- Firefighter of the Year: Billy Sowell and
Randy Bradley (We had a tie) |
| 11/15/03 - Congratulations to Brandon Price, James Smith, and Jamie Catoe for completing the Basic OSHA Interior Firefighter Class. This brings our total number of certified interior firefighters to 9 |
| 11/12/03 - Letter to the Editor in the Kershaw News Era thanking us for our efforts at a structure fire earlier this year. Click here to see it |
| 11/06/03- Election Results for 2004 officers: Chief: Billy Sowell Asst. Chief: Chris Jones 1st Captain: Randy Bradley 2nd Captain: Patrick Vincent |
| 08/28/03 - Received our 11 sets of gear which we purchased with our FEMA grant money. |
| 08/20/03 - We were notified that we had been awarded
a $700 VFA grant from Forestry. We used the monies to purchase two radios to upgrade our truck radios. |
| 07/21/03 - Today we received our 16 airpacks which we purchased with our grant money. See pictures here |
| 6/19/03 -
Today we learned of the status of the Assistance
to Firefighters Grant we submitted back in April of this year. We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded
a total of $55.791 that will enable us to upgrade our turnout gear and airpacks. This grant will enable us to further
protect our firefighters and provide them with the best safety equipment on the market. See our award info plus other SC fire depts who have received the awards here |
| 01/02/03 - Three business fire in Bethune that we backed them up on |
Kershaw,
SC:
Buffalo-Mt. Pisgah Fire Department has received a $6,500 donation
from the Stevens Foundation of Kershaw, SC. The department has
utilized this funding to purchase a thermal imaging camera.
This is a camera that can be used to seek out
hidden fires, see through smoke to locate victims, help locate lost
persons in wooded areas, and many other tasks. It uses thermal
imaging technology to detect the heat given off by objects.
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