CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — Emergency officials in Chester County say they can’t keep up with the growth the county is seeing.
According to those officials, they don’t have the manpower or the equipment on hand. Because of this lack of emergency resources, if any big incident were to occur, it could be detrimental.
“It’s fine as long as nothing happens, but as soon as it happens, it’s going to drain our resources," Richburg Fire & Rescue Chief T. Melton told WCNC Charlotte's Anna King. "Anytime you have a structure fire, you’re going to need two to three departments just because there are so limited resources that are available."
Melton said over the years they’ve gone from around 60-80 calls annually to almost 1,300 and the housing boom creates an additional “level of response.”
“We’re used to house fires, apartment [fires], we are not [used to], and we have some apartments coming in and some townhomes coming in and that’s different for us,” Melton explained.
He said they’ve had to add ladder trucks and they’ve had to take on additional training to keep up. With the handful of full-time positions, they’re already worn thin.
The Lando Fire Department has the same story.
“Really the manpower is the biggest thing," Lando Fire Department Chief Darius Murphy said. "Volunteers are what we need. We’re fortunate to have two to three full-time people during the day."
Emergency crews are now urging county leaders to include them in conversations about new developments and infrastructure they seek to bring to the county.
The county responds
Chester County officials say they have a $ 34,000,000 budget and a plan that's supposed to help everyone.
"We are always looking at how it is going to affect our citizens, their taxpayer dollars, roads, recycling centers, traffic, emergency responders, everybody," County Councilmember Erin Mosley explained.
The county says they've purchased seven trucks over the last year and they plan to continue to invest where they see the need.
“With the economy, the way it is right now, people are struggling with everyday lives. We’re just trying to do the best we can," Mosley continued.
Contact Anna King at aking2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.