Dorchester County Fire & Rescue working to recruit more volunteers

DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – As Dorchester County continues to grow, the county is working to ensure the fire department can meet the needs of the community.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve taken a big initiative to refurbish some of our stations [and] upgraded apparatus throughout the county,” said Dorchester County Fire and Rescue (DCFR) Chief Tres Atkinson.

In addition to infrastructure upgrades, the department is working to recruit more personnel. DCFR needs volunteer firefighters and volunteers to serve in support roles.

“We’re always looking for people to come in and help and be volunteers. We have several different tiers of our volunteers. We have support members, we have active certified firefighters, we have a job for everybody,” Atkinson said.

There are several perks to the job, including tax breaks and stipends. Department-provided training is another benefit, which often leads volunteers to pursue careers as firefighters.

For more information on how to apply, click here.