New fire station planned near Branchville

July 04--The Orangeburg County Fire Commission unanimously approved the purchase of nearly three acres of land near Branchville for a new fire station.

Commissioners approved Monday spending $18,000 for 2.82 acres of property at the corner of Saddle Ridge Road and Hoghaven Road.

The county is buying the land in an effort to reduce the various areas in the county which still have an Insurance Service Office rating of 10, the highest. A higher ISO rating means higher insurance premiums for homeowners; a lower ISO rating means lower insurance premiums.

"The thing I like about this is it is high ground, well-leveled," Orangeburg County Fire System Coordinator Gene Ball told commissioners during their regularly scheduled June meeting.

"We will not have bulldoze down trees and we will not have to do any kind of land preparation," he said. Ball said that will save money.

"It is in a very excellent location," Ball said. "It is just great where it is at. The road in front of the property is paved."

Ball said the property would provide easy access for fire trucks and will serve as a great place to offer automatic aid for the Cattle Creek Fire Department.

Currently, the property is a cotton field. Ball said work will begin on the land after cotton harvest.

In similar matters, Ball said fire station building projects and improvements are in various stages of progress across the county, including in Branchville, Holly Hill, Springfield, Bowman and Neeses.

Ball said there are a number of projects related to the laying of concrete pads at fire stations. Pads have been placed at the Bowman, Providence, Elloree and Holly Hill stations.

The pads enable trucks to drive into the station without tracking mud and dirt inside, Ball said.

In other matters, commissioners unanimously approved spending $1,361 as part of a 5 percent match to a Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Grant.

The grant will go toward the purchase of equipment such as air packs and bunker gear for the Four Holes Fire Department. The total grant is $27,239.

"Without these grants, we would be dead in the water," Ball said.

In other business:

-- Ball said Orangeburg County Council approved the district's $2.9 million 2015-2016 budget as presented. The fiscal year began July 1.

"The fire service has never been funded to its need," Ball said. "There is a greater need than there is funding. We have to be very careful how we spend the funds that we have."

-- Fire Advisory Board Chairman Carl Thompson informed commissioners Orangeburg County Emergency Services Director Billy Staley has been working with the district to rectify radio problems.

"He is doing an excellent job and is doing everything he can," Thompson said. "We have had no problems."

Radio communication and reception have been a frequent concern ever since the district came into existence nearly 20 years ago.

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