SC County: VFD Can't Operate after Mass Resignations

A majority of the members of a South Carolina volunteer fire department resigned Monday, forcing officials to find other ways to ensure fire protection.

The resignations come after the Sandridge Volunteer Fire Department "could not come to a working relationship with our board," the department said in an online post Monday. The department claimed it had made numerous attempts to reach an agreement.

"This challenge has been ongoing for months, and we feel we cannot properly protect the community, or ourselves under the leadership of our current board," the department said. "Because of this, the majority of the department resigned tonight."

The Firefighters and Officers of Sandridge VFD regret to inform our community that after numerous attempts on our part,...

Posted by Sandridge Volunteer Fire Department on Monday, January 4, 2021

Because the department no longer meets the requirements to provide fire protection in Berkeley County, surrounding departments will be handling calls for the district. And those departments are preparing for what a higher call volume could mean for them.

“We’ll have to end up picking up that slack which increases our call volume, increases our expenses, our fuel costs,” Cross Fire Chief Clayton Cole told WCSC-TV. “There’s a big formula that goes into this. It’s not just running up and down the road with lights and sirens.”

County officials are trying to work with "our partner fire departments and organizations to develop both short and long-term solutions to this situation," Berkeley County Emergency Management Director Ben Almquist said in a statement given to WCSC, And the department hasn't closed the door on providing protection again.

"As volunteers who care very deeply for our community, this truly breaks our hearts," the department stated. "We hope we can work with the county to ensure we get the fire protection the community deserves as soon as possible."