Fire station to serve Murrells Inlet, Garden City area taking shape

It has been a long time coming but by year’s end, Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire District station No. 79 will be ready to respond to the needs of residents living in the rapidly growing Burgess community of southeastern Horry County.

Breaking ground Friday for construction of the 4,100-square-foot station marked the end of a long struggle to increase fire coverage in the area. The project was hindered in 2014 when Gov. Nikki Haley vetoed a tax bill that had successfully worked its way through the South Carolina legislature. The governor said at the time she vetoed the bill “because I believe the taxpayers deserve a chance to vote on tax increases.”

Murrells Inlet-Garden City District Fire Chief Norman Knight said the veto pushed the effort back to the beginning.

“We started the process to get the tax millage raised around 2007 when we identified a need for a fourth station in the area,” Knight said prior to the groundbreaking. He said the same process was being followed that was used in 1992, when the tax rate was successfully doubled from the 5 mills established when the fire district was organized in 1966.

“Fast forward to 2007-’08 when we recognized that a rapidly growing district required more money to operate off of,” Knight said. The fire district proposed an increase to 14 mills.

He said when the idea of increasing the millage was initially taken to the legislature, they were encouraged to put off the request due to economic conditions at that time.

“If we had known then that [the governor] felt it was a tax increase that people in the district should have a say in, we would have had a referendum earlier,” Knight said.

Success finally came when a special referendum was held in March 2015 and voters overwhelmingly supported the increase. The 14 mills, Knight said, would add only about $16 a year in taxes to a home valued at $100,000.

That increase will provide 24-hour fire and EMS coverage for rapidly growing neighborhoods along McDowell Shortcut Road and Tournament Boulevard to S.C. 707.

“The addition of a fourth fire station in our district will put every resident within about 3 to 3.5 miles of a fire station,” Knight said. “That’s pretty strong. It will help with response time and availability of equipment.”

The $1.2 million, three-bay fire station will be the fourth to serve the district that is uniquely split between Horry and Georgetown counties. The tax increase will also support the cost of a $400,000 fire truck and an estimated $200,000 in staffing for house 79 that will include three firefighters and a two-person medic unit per shift. The total staff will consist of 15 people.

Knight said the current Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of Class 2 could change to the preferred Class 1 rating once the firehouse is built and staffed. He said the district is currently only two points away from the “ideal” rating that helps insurance providers measure a homeowners’ risk.

“That is my hope,” Knight said of obtaining the improved rating, “but it still falls on us to do the job.”

During the short ceremony, fire district board chair Al Hitchcock extended appreciation to the residents who cast a positive vote for the tax increase.

“You did the right thing,” he said. “So, get out your shovels and hammers, we’re ready to build a station. The voters spoke and they spoke loud.”

Horry County Council Vice Chair Tyler Servant, who represents District 5 covering the southeastern part of the county that includes the Garden City Beach and Murrells Inlet area, said Friday was an exciting day for the Burgess community.

“It is a growing area and anytime you have an opportunity to improve response time to the residents, it’s a great thing,” Servant said.

International Club resident Rosemary Toth, who volunteers at the Murrells Inlet firehouse, said she has watched the community and the need for an additional fire station grow since she moved here from Connecticut 11 years ago.

“Burgess is just a beautiful place to live and this will add to the safety of our residents,” she said.

This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Fire station to serve Murrells Inlet, Garden City area taking shape."