Members from South Sumter Stations worked hard to complete a fund raiser on Saturday, April 14, 2012.  Residents from the area purchased Boston butts and the proceeds were deposited into the South Sumter Fire Fund.  Fundraisers in the past have helped purchase hydraulic rescue tools for the South Sumter Battalion.  Special thanks to Cuba Firefighter Mark Stallings for providing the cooking knowledge.  Nearly all of our fundraising activities would not be possible without Mark’s expert help.  The cooking team was rounded out by Captain Wright and Ward Deputy Chief Bragg.  Don’t miss out the next time we cook!

 Mark Stallings takes a look at the meat on the pit.  Slow roasted, southern cooked Barbeque at its finest! 

Brierfield Volunteer Firefighter

Justin Gillen

On Saturday afternoon March 24, 27-year-old Justin Gillen was killed in a motorcycle accident.  Justin leaves behind a wife, Paige, 10-year old son, Tyler and 3-year-old daughter, Jenna.  Justin had just found a job in January so unfortunately his insurance benefits were not in force yet and there is no coverage to help this family with final and ongoing expenses.

Justin was a good man and firefighter.  He loved the fire service and to help his community but he loved his family more.

The Alabama Chapter of the Terry Farrell Firefighter’s Fund is working to collect funds to help this grief stricken family.  100% of donations in Justin’s name will go to help this family.

Donations may be made to:

The Terry Farrell Firefighter’s Fund-Alabama Chapter

Justin Gillen

C/O The Alabama Fire College

2501 Phoenix Dr

                                                                                                                                                                       Tuscaloosa, AL 35405

Spruce McRee

Chief

Brierfield Volunteer Fire & Rescue

When South Sumter Fire was created the organization was aimed at fostering an automatic aid group for the five stations covering the southern end of Sumter County as well as a training system that would assist all of Sumter County.  One of the other items that was on the list was a better response and handling of all hazards that will impact the citizens of the South Sumter area.  Certainly responding to fires and such would be near the top of the list, but being a rural area the fire department officers prepared to do more than just the basics.  The newly designed shoulder patch for the South Sumter Fire Battalionincorporated everything that the unit intended to do and is currently doing to serve the people of the area.  One of the items that was brought to the forefront in the past year was severe weather.  South Sumter is proud to announce that we now have a severe weather feed through FACEBOOK and Twitter that is available to all citizens of Sumter County.  We still recommend every resident purchasing their own severe weather radio, but this service will fill a gap and provide a much needed notification method for people on the go.  You may find us on facebook under the name of “South Sumter Fire Battalion” and you may find our twitter feed under “SouthSumterFire”. 

Anyone who is interested is also welcome to subscribe to South Sumter Fire by putting your email address in the subscription bar on the left hand side of the web page.  Subscribers will be alerted when any news is made public on the website. 

Lastly, We would like to thank everyone who has supported the South Sumter Fire group through the past two years.

The next phase of the communications project was completed this past weekend.  One-hundred foot towers were erected at Boyd, Ward, and Whitfield.  These towers will be used for station communications and in the case of Whitfield; the tower will be immediately put in service as a repeater station.  Siloam Asst. Chief Harry Hughes organized the project and coordinated the effort to complete this phase of a multi-year effort to increase the quality of communications in the Sumter County Fire Service.  Without people such as Harry there would be much that would go undone.  On this project alone Harry has put in countless hours getting equipment ready.  A special thanks to all the other firemen and officers that worked to complete the project at each of the stations.  Hopefully, the next phase of this project will be completed in very short order.

Antenna being put on the tower at Boyd Fire Station.

Boyd tower nearing completion.

Chief Dial standing next to the completed tower.

Preparations being made at Ward.

Nearing completion at Ward Fire.

Ward tower is complete.

Ward Fire Chief Fredy Reeves standing next to the completed tower at his station.

Making preparations at Whitfield Fire.

Securing the tower to the base.

Whitfield tower is complete.

Chief Steele standing next to the completed tower at Whitfield.

This year’s South Sumter Christmas and Awards Party was a tremendous success.  Thanks to all those that do so much throughout the year to make the lives of all Sumter County residents better.  As usual there was more food than would be possible to eat in several days available for everyone to enjoy.  Those in attendance enjoyed laughs and a top notch video of the activities of all departments throughout the year.  The video, prepared by Rindy Vaughan, also contained a special tribute for the anniversary of 9-11-01 and a segment on the tornadoes that struck the area this year.  Before the meal the firefighter and fire officer of the year were announced as well as several other awards.  It is wonderful to be a part of such an organization and we hope to continue to see our organization grow in the years to come. 

Special thanks to Janell Hughes for decorating and making sure things were set up inside. 

Guests begin to arrive.

Everyone had a great time and shared quite a few laughs. 

Chief Pendergrass, working hard on part of the menu. 

Fund Raising Director Mark Stallings talks with Northstar EMS Supervisor Jubal Ryan, Rindy Vaughan, and Bev Holder outside the building.  A special thanks to Mark this year for getting our fund raising efforts off the ground. 

Deputy Chief Holder and Jubal Ryan await the new pot of high octane coffee in the kitchen. 

Ward Asst. Chief Bragg speaking at the banquet. 

From L to R – Siloam Chief (Battalion Chief) Terry W. Pendergrass won the South Sumter Fire Officer of the year award for 2011.  Whitfield Firefighter Johnnie Steele won the Firefighter of the year award for her efforts throughout the year.  She was instrumental in warning her community of the impending tornado that struck the previous month. Cuba Chief (Battalion Chief) C. R. Vaughan was presented with an award by the family of Asst. Chief Bragg. 

The opening screen of this year’s video.  Each year we look forward to the efforts of Rindy and all those that send her pictures and other items. 

The new shoulder patch and logo of the South Sumter Group was unveiled at this years banquet as well.  This patch will be proudly worn by the men and women that keep our little corner of the world safe for years into the future.

Each year the period around Christmas and New Years causes firefighters to cringe and worry with each set of tones.  Anyone who has been in this business for long as seen all to often the tragedy of loss.  However, around Christmas the loss seems much more poignant that normal.  Help us protect your family this year by observing a few safety tips with decorations and candles.

The video provided by NIST is a clear reminder of how dangerous this time of the year can be if we don’t take precautions.

• Don’t place your live Christmas tree close to a heat source, including a fireplace or heat vent.
• Keep the tree stand filled with water at all times.
• Never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or wood-burning stove.
• Inspect holiday lights for frayed wires, bare spots, gaps in the insulation, broken or cracked sockets, and excessive kinking or wear before putting them up.
• Use only nonflammable decorations.

Links

nov_2010_holiday 

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/focus/holiday.shtm

Sumter Academy students visited South Sumter Fire Departments at old Cuba School for fire prevention.  The structure fire in York called away some of the members that were to be present, but Siloam, Cuba, and Ward Firefigthers filled in the gaps and a good time was enjoyed by all. 

Siloam Firefighter/EMT-I William Flowers talks to students about the equipment firefighters use.

Students hold the hose.

Smiling faces…

South Sumter Battalion held a fundraiser and fun day at the Cuba School on Saturday, October 15th.  Catfish was on the menu and fun was certainly in the air as members from various stations in the battalion assembled to cook and serve.  There was a return of the infamous dunking booth and it appeared that Asst. Chief Bragg did get over his horrible ear infection that kept him out of the dunking booth in May.  The day was a blast and a success and the next fund raiser is planned for December 3rd.  Hope to see you there.  Below is a few pictures provided by Skip Holder and Janell Hughes.

More shirts will be available.  Proud to be a member of such a great group of firefighters. 

Special thanks to Cuba Firefighter Mark Stallings and volunteer Leonard Hartman (Past Chief of Cuba Fire)

Mr. Freddy breading the fish.  Mr. Freddy is a founding member and current chief of the Ward Fire Department.

Siloam Firefighter Paul Deloach takes over for Mr. Freddy and keeps the fish rolling out.

Rindy and Ashlynne Vaughan preparing plates for everyone. 

Ward Captain Connie Harvison and Cuba Asst. Chief Charles Fisher preparing plates.

Leonard Hartman cooking up some hush puppies.  Thanks Lennie!

Cuba Firefighter Mark Stallings is a fish cooking master!

Siloam Asst. Chief Hughes has that look.  Don’t make a move on the fish!

Faye Deloach working in the kitchen.

The crew sets up the dunking booth

Ward Asst. Chief Bragg is calling the shots from the hot seat.

Cuba Asst. Chief Fisher on the way down.

Ward Firefighter Ashley Harvison takes on for the team.

Pumpers and engines in the South Sumter underwent annual service testing on Saturday, October 1st. All units that were tested passed without any problem and will be on the streets protecting the citizens of South Sumter for another year. One particular engine, Ward Engine, stands out among the pack. This old warhorse showed once again that it is one of the best for a reason. The Ward Engine is a 1979 Hahn that was purchased used by Ward Fire in 2000. The engine was well cared for and refurbished by its original owners and the Ward Fire department has taken care of it as well. Once again, this engine pulled the fastest prime of all engines and tankers, and met its rated pump capacity with fewer RPMs that stated on the day it was built. She is certainly an oldie but a goodie.

The Ward Engine during the test. 

Siloam Engine 1 undergoing the test. 

Cuba Fire’s oldest engine undergoing the test.