SC firefighter union stepping in as Georgetown Fire/EMS staff shortage creates issues
The ongoing Georgetown County Fire staffing shortage is starting to draw increased scrutiny from the state’s largest firefighter union, who worry the situation places its members and community at risk.
Bill Pesature, vice president of the Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina, said he’s been paying attention to the shortage at Georgetown Fire/EMS for some time, but he’s now working toward an advocacy action plan with the issue worsening, claiming the department has lost about 33% of its employees since the beginning of the year.
Assistant Chief Tony Hucks admitted the department has lost a few people in recent months, but said they’ve also hired a few and are probably staffed at about the same levels as a result, with 15 current vacancies total between fire and EMS positions.
The state association recently criticized the department on Facebook, pointing to a house fire Monday morning in the Sampit area of the county, where the closest fire station didn’t respond because it was unstaffed, leaving the next closest staffed station about 11 miles away as the first to respond.
“Not only does a short staffed fire department put Georgetown County communities at risk but it also creates a very dangerous work environment for Georgetown County Fire & EMS fire fighters, paramedics, and EMTs,” the association wrote in its post.
Hucks said the post was true, but a bit misleading because that unstaffed station, Station 7 on Windum Drive, is only staffed weekdays 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and has been that way for a long time, whether the department is fully staffed or not. That station is manned by volunteers during all other hours, he noted.
There was, however, another unstaffed station Sunday night that’s typically staffed 24-7, Hucks admitted. Volunteers were standing by for Station 8 in Plantersville after 8 p.m., and a career firefighter showed up within a few hours, Hucks said, adding that he hopes such a situation doesn’t happen again.
The department recently converted one of its five ambulances to a “basic truck,” meaning it operates with two EMTs instead of one EMT and one trained paramedic, as a way to reduce overtime requirements for its medics. Hucks said that decision has been working fine.
Pesature said Georgetown’s issues boil down to simple economics — they pay the lowest in the Grand Strand, so qualified firefighters in the area would rather work for Myrtle Beach or Horry County, where they get paid more for the same work.
Aside from the low pay, the reduced staffing compounds issues, as it results in more mandated overtime and low morale, he added.
A retired longtime New York City Firefighter, Pesature said low pay is an issue throughout South Carolina fire departments, most of which constantly have vacancies. What ends up happening, he said, is aspiring firefighters come from other states due to the openings, receive training on our taxpayers’ dime, and then go back to where they’re from and can make more money as trained professionals.
“You’re already paying (to train) them,” he said. “Now we need to realize you need to pay to keep them.”
Georgetown County is currently working toward finalizing its 2021-22 budget, and Fire Chief Mack Reed said there’s no salary increases in the proposed budget, but they have made requests.
This story was originally published June 10, 2021 at 6:58 AM.
