CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — South Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the country. US Census data shows the Palmetto State's population grew by 10% from 2010 to 2020. That growth can be good, but it can also create challenges for first responders.
In the small community of Richburg in Chester County, the Richburg Fire and Rescue Service is run mostly by volunteers.
“Today, we’re about 80 calls ahead of where we were this time last year. Last year was our busiest year," T. Melton, who is with the service, said.
Melton is one of four people who gets paid to work at Richburg Fire and Rescue. For decades, the department was run by mostly volunteers. Right now, it has 18 active volunteers helping when their schedules allow it.
“We’re not seeing a flood of new volunteers," he said. "The volunteers we have now are getting overtaxed. They’re working a lot of jobs as well."
Most firefighters in America are not paid for the work. The National Fire Protection Association estimates in 2019, about 67% of firefighters in America were volunteers.
Nationwide there’s a shortage of volunteers – creating a problem that could lead to serious repercussions.
At the same time, Melton said the number of service calls has continued to increase over the years, including calls to respond to Interstate 77 for crashes. In 2021, Richburg Fire and Rescue responded to 1,200 service calls, compared to 835 in 2020 and 904 in 2019.
“We spend a lot of time on the interstate," Melton said. "I think distracted drivers are probably the biggest problem we have.”
A traffic count from the South Carolina Department of Transportation shows an average of 11,000 more cars traveled on I-77 near Old Richburg Road in 2021 compared to ten years ago in 2011. Melton says a more concerning trend seen this year is the number of deadly accidents.
In 2020 and 2021, two people died in interstate crashes each year in Chester County. Three months into 2021, the Chester County Coroner’s Office has already recorded two deaths. Coping with the aftermath takes a toll.
“It’s been a really tough time. It affects your personality. It affects your sleep," Melton said.
The Richburg Fire Department responded to 93 crashes on I-77 in 2019 and 69 in 2020, when fewer people were on the roads because of COVID shutdowns. But the number jumped back up to 117 in 2021.
“It is scary because there is a lot of traffic out there and a lot of people don’t move over," Breanna Morrow, who works at the department part-time and volunteers outside of her normal hours, said.
Melton says he’s asking the county to provide more paid positions.
“We would like to be at four per shift because of the call volume – that’s kind of where we need to be," Melton said. "Realistically, we’d be happy to have one per shift just to kind of start out."
Melton said right now, volunteer firefighters sometimes call out from their jobs to respond to emergencies.
“It would take a lot of load off the volunteers because the volunteers, of course, would still respond but they wouldn’t feel so obligated," Marrow said.
Richburg Fire and Rescue met with county leaders on Thursday to talk about adding more paid positions. They hope the growth seen in the area will help pay for the positions, but right now it’s still in the early discussion phase.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.