| Lake City Rural F.D. performs tests on its new 1955 GMC/Southern pumper. L to R: Gabe Ellis, Charles Baker of Southern, Chief Walter Moody, and Roy Rogers. Photo by Keels Brockington |
The South Lynches Fire Department was organized in 1954, and on January 24, 1955 was chartered as the Lake City Rural Fire Department. The department began operating shortly thereafter with a 1955 GMC/Southern pumper with a 500 GPM front mount pump. Soon after, another GMC front mount joined the fleet, this one with tanker capabilities.
Within ten years, the LCRFD had added yet another tanker and was in the process of completing its first permanent home. In 1965, the LCRFD responded on a total of 60 incidents, 25% of which were conventional type tobacco barn structural fires.
Paralleling the development of the LCRFD was its sister organization, the Lake City Rescue Squad, who shared the same facility and personnel. Both of these organizations helped lay the foundation for what is known today as South Lynches Fire Department.
| L to R: Rural 1, 1955 GMC Southern 500 GPM Pumper. Rural 2, Mid-1950's GMC Department Built Tanker; Rural 3, Early 1960's Ford C-Series Tanker. Circa 1964. |
In the middle 1970s, the department changed its name to Lower Florence County Fire Department to more accurately reflect the department's coverage area, which included much more than just the rural Lake City area.
In 1982, residents voted in the South Lynches Fire District. This special purpose tax district consists of approximately 250 square miles in lower Florence County and upper Williamsburg County. The LFCFD changed its name to correspond with that of the new fire district. The SLFD currently operates out of six locations within the district. These are Station 1 "Lake City" 1955, Station 2 "Coward" 1971, Station 3 "Camp Branch" 1979, Station 4 "Cades" 1979, Station 5 "Leo-Camerontown" 1979 and Station 6 "Scranton" 1990.
Today, the SLFD operates 8 engines, 5 tankers, 3 rescues, 1 aerial, 1 brush truck, 2 water rescue units from 6 stations. The department is staffed by 3 paid, full-time support personnel and 1 paid full-time administrative assistant, as well as approximately 125 volunteer personnel. In 2007, the department responded to 779 incidents. Some of the original founders of the department are S. Keels Brockington, Sr., H. Raymond Askins, Sr., Roy Rogers, J. P. Grimsley and Walter Moody.
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