Our Parade Nevers Ends!!

We have a motto in our office that "Our Parade Nevers Ends" and today was no different as we participated in the 25th Annual St. George Grits Festival Parade. We take great pride in representing our department and our firefighters any time we can in an effort to show our support of all that they do.  We hope that, by example, we encourage other communities to remember their firefighters daily for their service to their communities. 

Charleston Loses a Great Leader

The following is an editorial written by Brian Hicks of the The Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston on
Wednesday, April 7, 2010:

They buried Hazel Wine Jr. on Saturday, his family and friends gathered graveside on a beautiful Lowcountry sea island.

Wine was not famous, rarely had his name in the newspaper or on the television, but he spent decades serving this community -- and Charleston is a little poorer without him.

Wine, 67, served for more than 30 years in the Charleston Fire Department, retiring in 2006 as a Battalion Chief. He was, his friends say, a leader of men, a mentor to young firefighters.

A soft-spoken man who ran a tight ship, Wine commanded respect as easily as he gave it.
"He made sure everybody did their job," Assistant Chief Raymond Lloyd says. "He was honest, fair and he could be tough. We'd have a fire and he'd say, 'Bro, we've got to get it done because I'm not going to call for any help.' And we'd get it done."

When Wine joined the fire department in the '60s, it was unofficially segregated. He was assigned to the ladder company on Coming Street, a station staffed entirely by black firefighters. The white firefighters worked for the pumper company. That's just the way things were.

In the early '70s, when the department began joining the modern age, Wine volunteered to go work on the pumpers, to lead the way. Fire department veterans say he became a leader then; whatever personality conflicts arose in those days were smoothed over by Wine. His skills did not go unnoticed. Shortly after becoming chief, Rusty Thomas promoted Wine to Battalion Chief. He was one of the first black firefighters to rise to such a lofty post.

"What you saw was what you got," Thomas says. "He knew his job and his guys knew their jobs. He demanded respect, and he got it."

These days, people around the fire halls remember him for his ingenuity and his professionalism. His friends say you'd be hard-pressed to find a firefighter who didn't like him. If you did, it would be someone he chewed out at one time or another and if Wine dressed them down, they deserved it.

When the department lost nine men in the Sofa Super Store fire in 2007, Wine had been retired for little more than a year. Still, he came back to help his men get through the most trying ordeal of their careers. "He came to every funeral, every eulogy -- he was there in uniform," Lloyd says. "Since he was retired, he could have just come to the big service and no one would have thought anything about it. He went above and beyond." That's likely because Wine realized he was part of something larger than a simple collection of co-workers. The fire department is a brotherhood, folks who risk their lives every day to keep other people safe. They stick together, in part because people like Wine showed them how.

Hazel Wine Jr.'s life is a lesson in professionalism and dignity and for that, Charleston owes him a good deal of thanks.
Copyright © 1995 - 2010 Evening Post Publishing Co..

CFD Officer Candidate Training Set for April 12

On April 12, 2010, the Charleston Fire Department will begin its' first formal Officer Candidate School. The program will be two weeks in length with many existing officers of the CFD presenting the classes. The seventeen new Captains of the department will attend sessions ranging from shift dynamics, report writing, haz mat operations, crew resource management, incident management, strategy and tactics, building construction, basic computers and health and wellness, including a session on behavioral health presented by our Team.  We are excited about this new program and are looking forward to participating.

Battalion Chief Hazel Wine

It is with regret that we report the death of Battalion Chief Hazel Wine, CFD Retired.  Chief Wine passed away this morning at Roper Hospital after an extended illness.  Our sympathy goes out to his family in their time of sorrow. We will have details of his funeral arrangements as they become available.

"Camp Happy Days" Car Show a Success!!

Today we participated in the 26th Annual Southern Drag Racing Association's Car Show to raise money for "Camp Happy Days". Ninety entries competed in multiple classes and the competition was tough. Our Team was honored to have David Reindollar, of the North Charleston Fire Department, join our display with his tribute fire bike and, not surprisingly, he took top honors in his class. Congratulations and thanks to David and his son for being a part of a successful day! Check out the photos here but especially the one of David and his son admiring their trophy.  A special day that reminds us of why we do this.

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

It is with sadness that we report the passing of Firefighter Clarence Scott, Sr., CFD Retired, on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.  Clarence retired in 1995 after serving 28 years on the job.  He worked his entire career in the truck house on Coming Street and last served on Truck 4, now known as Tower 104.  He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, three daughters, two sons, fourteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren, four sisters and two brothers.  

Firefighter Scott's wake was held on Sunday, March 14, at the Nichols Chapel AME Church on Kennedy Street in downtown Charleston with funeral services on Monday, March 15, at the church.  Our sincerest condolences go out to his entire family.

Reminder to our CFD Retirees!!

This photo shows some of our retirees enjoying themselves at our last meeting.

Our next quarterly dinner meeting for the "Hooked Up" program will be held this Thursday night, March 11, beginning at 7:00 p.m., at the Charleston Baptist Church on San Miquel Drive, West of the Ashley. Come out and join us for good food and fellowship!