Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
The Red Oak Fire Department was established in 1982.
The Red Oak Volunteer Fire Department was merged with Snelling Volunteer Fire Department in December 2022 after the county became aware none of the members were certified.
On January 31, the county Health and Safety Committee met to discuss the next steps volunteers must take to become a stand-alone department again.
“We’ve got several classes scheduled in Barnwell County for them to take,” said Wesley Gatlin, Barnwell County Fire Coordinator.
Gatlin arranged for an Emergency Vehicle Driver Training class to be offered from February 6 to February 26, a Hazmat Operations class in March, and a Firefighter I course set for early April or May.
Before volunteer firefighters can take the Hazmat Operations course, they must complete the prerequisite online training.
“They’ve got to take Hazmat Awareness, which is an online class. They can take it anytime, I told them about it two months ago and none of them took it,” said Gatlin of the Red Oak volunteers.
Gatlin is able to check the progress of these courses or see who has registered via the Fire Portal operated by the South Carolina Division of Fire and Life Safety.
Another requirement of volunteer firefighters set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is having an annual physical examination performed by a certified medical examiner. This is detailed in NFPA standard 1582.
“None of them have had physicals,” said Gatlin. “I gave all of them the paper to take to their doctor to get a physical, and I haven't gotten the first one back yet.”
“Every year, we actually do two different sessions. We get North Greenville Fitness to come down and do our physicals. One month we do it in Williston, and then the following month we do it in Barnwell. So they had two opportunities to get it done and none of them showed up,” said Gatlin.
According to Gatlin, the county pays for these annual physicals when they are administered at these sessions or by the volunteer’s primary care physician.
Gatlin is looking to arrange a time with North Greenville Fitness to do the physicals for just Red Oak volunteers. A physical exam is required to be completed before taking the Firefighter I course.
“In the words of an old cliche, you’ve led that horse to water but that horse chose not to drink,” said committee Chairman Don Harper.
Barnwell County Administrator Tim Bennett suggested the committee set a deadline for making an appointment for a physical and registering for online classes.
Bennett suggested, “if they do not respond accordingly to the fire coordinator, that this committee consider folding that volunteer fire department into another volunteer fire department if they do not meet that deadline.”
Bennett suggested Gatlin monitor the fire portal and inform the Red Oak volunteers of these deadline requirements.
The Red Oak Fire Department held a special-called meeting on Thursday, January 26 to elect a permanent chief, unbeknownst to Gatlin.
“Last Thursday they had a special-called meeting and elected a new, permanent fire chief, which is Mr. Henry Smith,” said Gatlin. “I wasn’t aware of the meeting until after it happened.”
Smith had been serving as the interim chief of the department prior to his election as chief.
