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TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE ANDERSON COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR THE VALUABLE PUBLIC SERVICE IT RENDERS EVERY DAY, AND TO CONGRATULATE THE DEPARTMENT AT THE CELEBRATION OF ITS FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
Whereas, the South Carolina Senate is pleased to learn that the Anderson County Fire Department is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2013; and
Whereas, the Anderson County Fire Protection System was initiated as a Farm Bureau Project. Prior to its implementation, residents outside the local town limits contracted with the nearest city to provide fire protection; and
Whereas, however, Tim O'Neal, president of the Anderson County Farm Bureau, envisioned a countywide fire system where all citizens would have competent firefighting services. After Mr. O'Neal had gained local public support for his project, in 1961 Senator T. Ed Garrison introduced legislation to establish the Anderson County Fire Protection Commission. The commission, in turn, established the Anderson County Fire Department in 1963; and
Whereas, today, the task of fire protection in Anderson County is accomplished by about eight hundred volunteer firefighters responding from thirty stations throughout the county. These dedicated firefighters, along with headquarters staff, responded to approximately 4,300 emergency calls in 2012. The department's current fleet consists of sixty-one engines, twenty-eight tankers, thirty grass trucks, five ladder trucks, and numerous service vehicles; and
Whereas, the Anderson County Fire Department strives continuously to provide its firefighters with the safest and best equipment and training available. The Anderson Fire Service Training Facility, created through the joint efforts of the Anderson County Fire Department, City of Anderson Fire Department, and the fire departments of Belton, Honea Path, and Williamston, is a source of justifiable pride to the communities it serves; and
Whereas, under the leadership of Chief William "Billy" Gibson, Jr., the Anderson County Fire Department works every day to provide the best emergency service possible, continuing to uphold the high standards it has followed for half a century; and
Whereas, cognizant that the department's value to the people it serves is incalculable, the Senate takes great pleasure in saluting the Anderson County Fire Department on fifty years of exemplary service. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate:
That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, recognize and honor the Anderson County Fire Department for the valuable public service it renders every day, and congratulate the department at the celebration of its fiftieth anniversary.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to the Anderson County Fire Department.
This web page was last updated on January 17, 2013 at 11:38 AM