City of Barnwell dedicates new fire station

A new age of fire service has dawned in the City of Barnwell.

On Saturday, September 7, the community was welcomed to the grand opening of a new fire station – a place many first responders and elected officials had dreamed of and worked toward for decades. 

“This is a great day for the City of Barnwell. This day is a day we have been waiting on for quite some time,” said Mayor Ron Still. “This is a day that is well deserved for each and every one of our firefighters, and it has been well earned over the years here by these gentlemen and ladies.” 

The original fire station was built in 1954 and has since fallen into disrepair and contains asbestos. In 2018, a new police department was constructed using the previous round Capital Project Sales Tax (CPST) funding and the city set a goal to build a new fire department with part of the next eight-year allotment. 

The construction of a new station meant tearing down what once served as a hub for fire, police, judicial, and governmental departments in the city. 

Mayor Still spoke of the feelings many Barnwell natives have; “There were some times where I rode by and saw that building being torn down that kind of made me a little upset to be quite honest with you. … As much as I was proud of what we have here today, I was a little bit nostalgic with the fact that I grew up in there.”

In 2019, Representative Lonnie Hosey secured $350,000 toward this goal, and in April 2023 aided in reallocating $2 million of the Department of Energy Settlement Fund allotment toward the project. In October 2023, he then assisted with bringing $500,000 from the state to construct the station, totaling $2,850,000 in funds to build a new fire department. 

If the next round of CPST funding appearing on the referendum on the November 8 ballot passes, the city plans to use the funding to pay off the construction cost of the department; “If the Capital Sales Tax, that’s on the referendum this November 5th, passes this building will be paid off, and the city will owe no debt on any of the structures,” said Mayor Still of the new police department, city hall, Lemon Park, and a wastewater treatment facility. 

“Great things are happening in the City of Barnwell,” he said. 

A LOOK INSIDE THE NEW STATION

Chief Phillip Delk described the new facility as “a great benefit for the volunteers, a great benefit for the community.”

Over the past roughly 14 months, Chief Delk and assistant chief Scotty Hankins have worked alongside superintendent Andrew Olson with Spratlin & Sons Construction based in Evans, Georgia, who was contracted by the city to build the station. 

“This project stands as a testament to teamwork and dedication, ensuring the safety and well-being of the citizens of Barnwell,” said Spratlin & Sons in a statement. 

Olson was presented with a plaque for his dedication to seeing this project completed and for working seamlessly alongside fire and city officials. 

“It took some understanding from many of us, both firefighters and elected officials, to get the majority done. It took acceptance and understanding from the council that a fire station just wasn’t a garage for parking fire trucks, but a technically advanced designed building with health and safety at the forefront,” said retired fire chief Tony Dicks. 

The new station has several technological advances for the health and safety of firefighters such as a decontamination facility where hazardous pathogens and materials can be removed from their person. 

“The number one killer of firefighters today is cancer. With that in mind, the building is designed to keep the cancer-causing toxins of the job isolated from the working and living spaces in the building,” said Dicks. 

The facility also has an administration center that can be used as an emergency operations center during times of emergency or disaster, and can be used as a backup for the Barnwell County Emergency Management team and/or surrounding counties. 

Firefighters were able to occupy the facility last month and began scheduling training classes and exercises in house, which are scheduled until the end of the year. 

According to Dicks, foresight into new state standards for fire safety were considered as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations shift and change. 

It contains a physical fitness center for strength and cardio training for firefighters, as well as a fire service heritage and life safety education center where children and adults can visit to learn about local and national fire service history. 

When Barnwell County School District students learn about fire safety each year, they will do it in this education center. 

City administrator Lynn McEwen thanked three local businesses for their support throughout the 14-month construction process; SRP Federal Credit Union for donating furniture, Collum’s Lumber Products in Allendale for donating starter wood, and Scotsman Ice Company for donating an ice maker. 

“We appreciate the entire community coming together and helping us with this building,” said McEwen. 

REMEMBERING OUR HISTORY: Reflecting from the past, and preparing for the future 

Amidst change and a growing future, retired Chief Dicks reminded those in attendance of the city’s rich history.

“To make good decisions going forward, you need to know your history,” said Dicks. 

While adorning a white leather fire helmet reminiscent of time past, he summarized 133 years of fire protection in the City of Barnwell beginning in 1891 with a population of just 1,800. 

Dicks detailed the evolution of the fire service beginning with a windmill with an attached well and an elevated tank that stood in the center of town, allowing water to be drawn and used in the event of an emergency. Wooden water main lines on Burr Street and Main Street were later uncovered, and believed to be part of this original system.

The population took a dip by 1900 and the windmill and adjoining well were no longer in use. Rather wooden barrels filled with water and buckets could be found along downtown streets to serve as fire protection. 

By 1909, the city came into owning some equipment, but there was still no organized fire service. 

Major changes came between 1917 and 1919 when a Georgia-based company specializing in elevated water tanks & towers, pumps, and pipes brought the city four wells supplying 100,000 gallons of water, in addition to storage tanks, the installation of iron pipes, and 52 fire hydrants. 

One of these hydrants can still be found on the corner of Washington and Burr Street, outside of the new firehouse. 

An organized volunteer fire service was then established under the leadership of the city’s first fire chief, J.J. Vickery, in 1919. They operated with two hose reels and access to water brought only a year or so prior. 

The late chief Vickery designed and built the department’s first fire alarm; a steam operated whistle. 

In 1933, When the electrical operation controlled by the city was taken over by S.C. Power Company, now Dominion Energy, an electric siren and a telephone system were added to the department’s list of equipment. 

At this time, the volunteers were operating out of a lean-to structure in an alley near Burr Street. 

A new elevated tank was constructed and a pumper truck was purchased. Due to the lean-to like structure of the facility, it could not store the new truck, leaving it to be housed at Vickery Brothers Garage at night, and under the iconic live oak trees on Burr Street during the day. 

“Under those two live oaks at the corner of Washington and Burr Street, is where beginning in 1934 the first fire truck spent many a day, it was where the final step in our vision of a new fire station had taken place,” said Dicks. 

A new station was then built with federal funding from the incoming Savannah River Site in 1954 in that very spot. $100,000 purchased a new fire truck, a hose, police cars, and radios, as well as building the former station many Barnwell natives grew to love. 

“When I was a child, I grew up in the old fire department. At that time it was a multipurpose building, it served as the fire department, it served as the jail… it also served as the magistrate where we held court, and it also served as the city hall and the police station,” said Mayor Still. 

Dicks detailed the movement of these entities around the county before coming into their current locations in downtown Barnwell, attributing much of the movement to the aspirations and vision of former councils and mayors in the early 2000s.  

“We can close the door on this vision that started 24 years ago,” said Dicks. 

LEGACIES OF SERVICE: Families synonymous with fire service 

Three areas on the campus of the new station will be dedicated to three families or individuals who have been instrumental in maintaining fire services in the city for decades. 

Representative Hosey was presented with a resolution to honor and dedicate a part of the facility in his name. 

The Lonnie Hosey Fire Administration and Training Center is representative of the “great appreciation for the singular and tireless efforts of Representative Lonnie Hosey in obtaining $2,850,000 being received for a new fire department,” states the resolution. 

This center is located inside the new facility. 

The Vickery family was also honored at the ceremony; known for their over 154 years of service to the city and three founding members. 

As aforementioned, the late J.J. Vickery served as the first chief of the department from 1919 through 1929, spearheading much of the development of the fire service in the city alongside two family members, Clyde Vickery and D.C. Vickery.

Lloyd C. Vickery Sr. became the city’s second chief in 1929 and served until 1972, making him the longest standing chief in the city’s history. Following him was Lloyd C. Vickery Jr., who served as chief from 1979 to 1994 and was awarded the James B. Murphy Firefighter of the Year Award in 1990 and was later inducted into the S.C. State Firefighters Hall of Fame. 

Lloyd Charles Vickery III served as a firefighter from 1970 to 2000. 

In the family’s honor, a memorial park outside the station will be named after them known as the Vickery Family Memorial Park. 

The Dicks’ family helped grow the department alongside many of the Vickerys, with W.H. “Horace Jr.” Dicks serving as chief from 1972 to 1979. His wife, Corrie Lee Dicks, became the city’s first female firefighter and his son, William G. Dicks, served as a firefighter as well. 

Three generations of the family served the city, and Horace Jr. was later inducted into the S.C. State Firefighters Association Hall of Fame in 2005.

The aforementioned chief Tony Dicks began his career with the city in 1973 and became fire chief in 1999 where he served in this capacity until 2023. He was sworn into the hall of fame in 2017. 

In honor of their 90 years of service and three generations of dedication, the city has named a room in the new station the Dicks Family Fire Service Heritage and Life Safety Education Center. 

Each family was honored with a plaque. 

A SPECIAL ANOINTING 

Pastor Bart Kelley of First Baptist Church of Barnwell and chaplain for the fire department has been in the fire service for around a decade, and was tasked with blessing the facility for the protection of the men and women who will serve inside it. 

“My second home outside of my home with my family was the firehouse,” said Kelley. “You can always depend on them to have your back.” 

To bless the facility and those serving, he anointed the building with oil that came from a garden in Jerusalem.