Georgetown County fire chief retiring after more than 30 years leading department
The last time Georgetown County had a fire chief other than Mack Reed, Ronald Reagan was the U.S. president, George Michael was topping the music charts with his hit song “Faith,” and the Soviet Union still existed.
While employee turnover has been a regular part of the Georgetown County Fire/EMS in recent years, the man heading the department has been the one constant. But that will soon change.
After more than 30 years leading the department, Chief Mack Reed announced his retirement Friday, effective October 1. Taking the job in 1989, he was just the second chief in the fire department’s history after it was formed in 1982 and the only one to preside since the merger in 2005 with Georgetown County EMS.
Reed said he just felt it was time to give the younger staffers a chance to take the reigns, and he’s looking forward to doing some fishing, but he’s unsure how he’ll fill the rest of his newfound free time.
He never imagined when he took the chief position, after seven years as a volunteer firefighter, that he’d stay as long as he did, but Reed said if I was young now, he’d do it again.
He’s proud of all that he accomplished, reminiscing about the consolidation with EMS and the giant fire he helped fight at the paper mill about 20 years ago, though Reed said the reason he stayed so long and what he’ll miss the most is the camaraderie he shared with his fellow firefighters and county employees.
Reed noted the tremendous growth of the department and county during his years as service, as the staff has nearly doubled and they’d gone from six fire stations to 15 with nine substations.
Reed’s retirement comes amid a yearslong staffing shortage — an issue many South Carolina fire departments are facing — that has led to several stations in the county being staffed with just one firefighter at a time.
Consistent vacancies have led to more mandated overtime, which leads to burnt out employees, which leads to more turnover in a cycle that’s been difficult to break as recruitment has also lagged, department staff and administrators have previously told The Sun News.
Reed said staffing issues remain a work in progress, but he’s confident the department will be able to make adjustments moving forward to handle that and any other issues it faces in the future.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 2:45 PM.
