Surfside Beach looks into Horry County taking over fire department

SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Surfside Beach leaders are weighing the option of combining the town’s fire department with Horry County Fire Rescue.

Fire Chief David Nelson made it clear in a city council workshop Thursday that he thinks the best course of action is consolidation.

“That’s what I feel as a whole that we need to be concerned with--are we capable of taking care of our citizens and protecting them and making them safe? And at this time, with the staffing that we have, I don’t think that we are,” said Nelson.

Nelson said his department is short seven people, and on top of that, will need new equipment in the next few years, which will be expensive.

The town is already grappling with a budget deficit of almost $2 million.

“[Horry County does] offer a lot more resources that we don’t have,” said Nelson. “Heavy rescues, per se, and everything else, you know, the ambulance service, we don’t have any ambulance service as it is and that’s a big problem, I feel.”

But Councilmember Shawn Fallon expressed some concerns with consolidation, including crews not being able to get to people in need on time.

“The coverage that you’re doing is a lot more than just Surfside. You’re rolling in here but you could be down 544 in, you know, summertime,” said Fallon. “You know, you can’t get around this town too well, so 10 minutes turns into 20 and a person’s dead.”

Assistant County Administrator of Public Safety for Horry County Randy Webster said during a presentation that all Surfside Beach Fire Department employees would have jobs at HCFR if they made the switch, and staffing shortages would no longer be a concern.

But leaders said no matter what route the town goes, residents will most likely see tax increases.

The whole proposal has left residents with differing opinions.

“It doesn’t really matter if you have a building you can control and there’s nothing in it,” said resident Betty Lowery.

Other residents, like Ann Westcott, worry that losing the fire department means losing control.

“It concerns me that we don’t have enough staff, but we can correct that,” said Westcott. “The people of Surfside Beach are going to get a tax increase no matter what.”

Thursday’s meeting was just a workshop so no decisions have been made just yet.

Mayor Robert Krouse told WMBF News he will not have an opinion on the matter until he looks through the presentation a little more.

He said staff will be getting to work on a proposal as soon as possible.

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