1 of 5
Jason Floyd
A lineman with Santee Electric Cooperative, Floyd also serves his community as a lieutenant and volunteer with the Clarendon County Fire Department.
2 of 5
Lindsi Schofield
Schofield started out as a volunteer firefighter with Couchton Fire Rescue in Aiken and now works as a professional EMT in Murrells Inlet.
3 of 5
Stacey Tisdale
A fire service volunteer for 15 years, Tisdale works as a line crew supervisor for Santee Electric Cooperative and serves as a captain with both Williamsburg County Fire Department and Kingstree Fire Department.
4 of 5
Arthur Bays
Bays has given more than 30 years to volunteer fire service, first in the Lowcountry and in later years in Chesterfield County. He is chairman of the Operation Round Up board for Lynches River Electric Cooperative and a volunteer with Teal’s Mill Fire Department.
5 of 5
Photo by Berton Taylor, Providence Baptist Church, Pageland, SC
Roger Smith
Smith (pictured at a recent 9/11 memorial in Pageland) serves as safety officer for Sandhill Volunteer Fire Department in Chesterfield County and on the Lynches River Electric Cooperative Operation Round Up board.
Across the state, electric cooperative employees and others affiliated with the co-ops serve as emergency responders.
Here are some of the people who live the cooperative principle of “concern for community” as volunteers:
Jason Floyd | Lineman, Santee Electric Cooperative; Station 13 lieutenant, Clarendon County Fire Department
Watching firefighters rescue his parents’ burning house when he was just 15 inspired Floyd’s wish to be just like them. “When I saw it, I said, ‘I’ve got to do this,’” he says. “It’s not really about being a hero; I just want to be a help to people.”
Jeremy Courtney | Lineman, Aiken Electric Cooperative; firefighter, Johnston Fire Department
Courtney decided to volunteer after the Johnston Fire Department came to the rescue of his brother, who was injured in a bad vehicle accident during an evening thunderstorm. Courtney was out working a power outage for the co-op when the accident happened.
Lindsi Schofield | Daughter of Aiken Electric Cooperative member services representative Lisa Lucas; former firefighter with Couchton Fire Rescue, Aiken; now a professional EMT in Murrells Inlet
Couchton’s 2013 Volunteer of the Year, Schofield remembers, “We kind of lived at the department” during South Carolina’s big ice storm in 2014. She and a paramedic drove Schofield’s four-wheel-drive truck down a remote dirt road to rescue a pregnant woman in premature labor during the storm, because the ambulance couldn’t handle the rough, icy terrain.
Benji Brown | Warehouse/staker, Aiken Electric Cooperative; firefighter, Center Fire Department, Aiken
Brown describes his fellow firefighters as “a brotherhood” that works and trains together. “You learn to trust the people you work with.”
Billy House | Construction planner, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative; firefighter, Holly Springs Volunteer Fire Department, Inman
“I’m always making sure the guys are doing stuff safely on the scene. I want to make sure at the end of the day they go home to their families and enjoy life.”
Chris Frye | Line crew supervisor, Santee Electric Cooperative; firefighter, Clarendon County Fire Department
Frye knows he faces dangers routinely in his roles as both a lineman and a firefighter. But he enjoys the camaraderie of both jobs and “trying to help save people’s property, and their memories.”
Trina Adams | Field representative, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative; volunteer, Oconee County Special Rescue and Oconee County Dive Team
Adams volunteers alongside her husband, Steven, who serves as chief of Fair Play Fire Department. “It’s a calling,” she says. “You have to care. It has to be a passion.
Stacey Tisdale | Line crew supervisor, Santee Electric Cooperative; captain, Williamsburg County Fire Department and Kingstree Fire Department
As a co-op lineman, Tisdale was often called out to structure fires in his Kingstree community, cutting power to a house or business to keep the scene safe for emergency responders and bystanders. The department’s firefighters encouraged him to join up, since he was usually on hand anyway. Now, when he’s on call at a fire for the co-op, he’ll suit up to help fight the fire after he’s completed his co-op duties.
Oliver Dowdle | Safety and job training coordinator, York Electric Cooperative; chief, Sharon Fire and Rescue
A 31-year volunteer, Dowdle has watched Sharon’s roster dwindle through the years, with fewer recruits to replace those who age out. Still, somebody has to answer the calls, he says. “People expect somebody to be there when they need help, but they don’t want to be the ones to have to do it.”
Bret Timmerman | Lineman, Little River Electric Cooperative; firefighter, Cold Spring Fire and Rescue, Abbeville
There was fleeting moment, once, as Timmerman rushed into a huge fire at an Abbeville mill, that he asked himself: Why am I doing this? “You need to have your heart in it to do the job,” he says. “Don’t do it for the glory. Do it because you want to help people. Not because you want to get in the big truck with the big lights and the sirens on.”
Arthur Bays | Chairman, Lynches River Electric Cooperative Operation Round Up board; volunteer, Teal’s Mill Volunteer Fire Department, Chesterfield
Now 70, Bays still carries the memory of an infant who died, many years ago, in a mobile home fire that was started accidentally by a toddler playing with a lighter. Though volunteers were on the scene quickly, “there was nothing we could do to get to her in time,” he recalls. “I think about that all the time. It still hurts my heart.”
Roger Smith | Lynches River Electric Cooperative Operation Round Up board; safety officer, Sandhill Volunteer Fire Department, Jefferson
As both a grandfather and the safety officer at his department, Smith is mindful of the importance of teaching children about fire safety. It’s gratifying, he says, to be at the scene of a fire and know that the kids got out of the house safely because they learned their lessons about listening for smoke alarms and knowing escape routes. “Material things can be replaced,” Smith says. “People can’t.”
_____
If you want to volunteer
No matter what first attracts someone to volunteering as a firefighter, eventually the service is its own reward, South Lynches Fire Department Capt. James Epps says.
“People may walk in the door for excitement. But two or three years down the road, they don’t care as much about that,” Epps says. “It’s more about helping people.”
Volunteers can serve as firefighters, EMTs, administrative helpers, chaplains, or other auxiliary supporters. Training requirements vary according to the position. Teens can start training as young as 15 through junior programs, but they cannot participate in active firefighting until they turn 18.
Requirements for serving as a volunteer firefighter vary by local fire department, but generally volunteers must:
- be at least 18 years of age;
- have a high school diploma or GED;
- pass a SLED background check; and
- be approved as medically fit for duty.
To volunteer, visit scvolunteerfire.org or call the National Volunteer Fire Council recruitment line at (800) 347-3546.
_____
Related stories
S.C. volunteer firefighters – When the alarm sounds, South Carolina’s volunteer firefighters are ready to respond.
Suiting up for fire training – Diane Veto Parham goes inside a live-burn training drill with the volunteers of South Lynches Fire Department.