Our Team Trains with Salisbury Fire Department!

Five members of the Charleston Firefighter Support Team traveled to the Salisbury, North Carolina Fire Department on Tuesday of this week to present a three day training program for the newly formed Peer Counseling Team in the SFD.  Our relationship began with the SFD in 2008 after they lost two firefighters in March, 2008 in a cabinet manufacturing warehouse.  Our Team members have made several trips to Salisbury and members of their department have visited and trained with us in Charleston since that time.

Christopher Wells, our Peer Counselor clinician, John Winn, Sr., Bryan Kleskie, and Demeail Seabrook, Peer Counselors on our Team, and Richie Denninger, our former Peer Supervisor, made up the group that presented the training.  Special thanks to all of these men for "making us proud".

On behalf of all of them and our entire Team, we thank Chief Bob Parnell and his entire department of their hospitality shown to our folks while in Salisbury.  We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with the SFD folks as both of our Teams continue to grow.  

A Celebration on the High Battery!

Today, we were honored to be a part of the wedding day of Easley firefighter Pierce Womack and his bride Kristin. They were married in a ceremony at the Palmer House on the High Battery and we rode the bride and groom around the Battery on Engine 11 after the ceremony. Pierce is the son of Easley Fire Chief Butch Womack. Chief Womack is a Past President of the South Carolina State Firefighters' Association and an avid supporter of our Team. We were happy to be able to help make Pierce and Kristin's day special and to show our appreciation for Chief Womack's unwaverly support of the Charleston Fire Department.

A Special Congratulations!

We are pleased to join the entire CFD family is wishing special congratulations to our own Battalion Chief Richard Waring in the announcement of his appointment as the Chief of the Summerville Fire Department. Chief Waring is returning to where he began his Fire Service career nearly twenty years ago as a volunteer and to where his father served as Fire Chief before his retirement.   We wish Chief Waring all the best in his new position.

"Celebrating Our Fire Department Children"

The Charleston Firefighter Support Team, along with the CFD Wives' Club and the CFD Retirees' Program members, is moving along with our preparations for a special entry in the Annual Charleston Christmas Parade, being held on December 4 this year.   We have secured the reservation for our parade float to be titled "Celebrating Our Fire Department Children" and invite all of our CFD children to join us to ride on the float in the parade.  This idea came from our desire to do something special for our fire department children this year and this parade is always a highlight of the holiday season for our community. We will have our Team's Engine 11 and Engine 8 escorting the float to give us additional room to accommodate all who wish to participate with us.  We are asking that all of the children be dressed in something red such as a shirt, blouse, jacket or sweater to add to the holiday theme.  Parents are invited to ride with their children, as space permits, or to walk along beside with our Team members.  Please call the Team office at (843) 225-3850 to let us know if you wish to participate so we can plan for how many to expect. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Passing of a Brother...........

It is with sadness that we inform you that CFD Retired Engineer Henry Snyder passed away on October 12, 2011. Engineer Snyder was hired with the CFD on April 2, 1968, promoted to 3rd Driver on May 4, 1973, and then to Engineer on December 27, 1975. He was assigned to Tower 105 in the "Truck House" on Coming Street where he drove for Captain Raymond Simmons. Engineer Snyder retired on April 22, 1994.

The wake will be held at Bethel AME Church located at 464 Society Road in McClellanville on Monday, October 17, from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.. The funeral service will be conducted at Bethel Church on Tuesday, October 18, beginning at 1:00 p.m., will full Fire Department honors.

Any fire department member available is requested to attend either of the services in recognition of Engineer Snyder's service as a City of Charleston firefighter. Personnel should wear their Class A uniform as a sign of respect for his years of service.

Charleston Fire Department Holds Promotional Ceremony!

Thirty-nine members of the CFD were officially promoted today in a ceremony before family and friends at the International Longshoremen's Hall on Morrison Drive.  Congratulations to the following men in attaining this goal in their careers:

Battalion Chiefs:

 

     Christopher Vanhoy       

Richard Waring 

Captains:

John T. Cole

Anthony Morley 

                      William Haigler                        

Derek Noffsinger 

James Jacques 

Aubrey Tillman

Kenneth Jenkins 

John Tumminia

    John Eran McClary     

Engineers:

Thomas Axson

William Ryan Glover

Leslie Baker

  Adam Mims    

 Bryan Bolick   

Thomas Tallent

Michael Campbell 

Jerry Warren   

   Michael Chandler     

  Richard Worrell    

Joseph Eberling

Christopher Zailski

Assistant Engineers:

McCray Chappell

Jonathan Massie  

Joseph Curtis

Kyle Minasian 

Michael Gorby    

Brad Mizzell

Albert Graziani 

Troy Nave  

Christian Hallock

Michael Pack   

George Justice

Russell Patterson

Thomas Leslie 

  Richard Summers   

  Ryan Malone    

Ryan Ward

We applaud each of you for your hard work and are looking forward to working with you in your new positions!

Getting It Done in the City!

Charleston firefighters responded to a house fire this afternoon on Amherst Street downtown.  First arriving units found heavy fire and smoke in a two story wood frame house with exposures on the B & D sides. I was on Savannah Highway, West of the Ashley, and watched the smoke as I drove downtown.  Using my best training and memories of the old days, I listened to the radio and watched the smoke and I could tell they were getting the job done. Well, when I finally made it there, it was obvious they had just plain "opened up a can of whoop ass" on it. Sorry folks, that's simply what came to my mind.  They laid into it with "big water" and made short work of it.  Nice job guys and thanks to St. Andrews Rescue 301 for the back-up!

We're Excited! - Fire Prevention Week Starts Saturday!

Fire Prevention Week kicks off with a bang on Saturday with the Charleston parade. Here is a list of all activities that we know of for the week for all those interested:

Oct. 8th - Charleston Fire Dept. parade - Line-up at 9 a.m. on Horizon Street behind the Charleston PD Headquarters. Parade will begin @ 10 a.m. and end at Lockwood and Spring Street.

Oct.10th - Summerville Fire Rescue and Old Fort Fire Dept. parade lineup will begin at 5 p.m. on Springview Lane, across from Summerville Medical Center. Parade will begin at 6 p.m. Parade will end at Lowe's on N. Main Street at approximately at 6:30 p.m. for a static display until 8:00 p.m. 

Oct.11th - St. George Fire Department display - This will be at Reid's Grocery Store, 5982 West Jim Bilton Blvd. in St. George. It will begin at 6:00 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m.

Oct.11th - Goose Creek Fire Dept. display - This will be held at Walmart Supercenter Parking Lot on St. James Avenue. Display begins at 6:00 p.m. - until.

Oct.12th - Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms' display and parade - The parade lineup will be at 4:00 p.m. Parade begins at 4:30 p.m. on J.C. Long Blvd at Isle of Palms' Station One. It will finish at the Sullivan's Island Station where the display will be held. Display begins at 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 12th - Ashley River Fire Dept. display - This will be held at the Windsor Hill Food Lion Crossing, located at 3640 Ashley Phosphate Road. Display begins at 6:00 p.m. and goes until 8:30 p.m.

Oct. 13th - James Island Public Service District Fire Dept. Expo - This event will be held in the parking lot of the James Island Lowes at 770 Daniel Ellis Drive, from 6 p.m.- 9 p.m.

Oct. 14th - St. John's Fire Dept. display, location and times to be posted later. 

Oct.15th - North Charleston Fire Department display - This event will be held at Lowe's located at 7555 Northwoods Blvd. Display wiill begin at 10 a.m. and end at 2 p.m.

If anyone knows of any other events or parades not shown here, please e-mail me at gerald@scfirefighters.org so I can add them.

The Charleston Fire Department Wives' Club is having a yard sale to raise money for future Club events on Saturday, October 8th, at the Salvation Army Worship Center located at 2135 Ashley River Road, West of the Ashley. Doors open at 8:00 a.m. and they invite any and all to come out and join them for some great bargains for a good cause.

If you have any items you'd like to donate, please email them at cfdwives@aol.com or come to The Salvation Army Worship Center on October 7, between 6:30 & 7:30 p.m., to drop items off. Thanks for the support!

CFD to Kick-Off Fire Prevention Week!

The Charleston Fire Department is kicking off Fire Prevention Week with their Fire Prevention Parade next Saturday, October 8, beginning at 10:00 a.m., downtown. All departments are invited to participate. Please call the Charleston Chief's office at (843) 720-1981 and let them know you are coming. Also we invite you to post on our Facebook page if you know what your department's plans are for Fire Prevention week so that we can support your events.