[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 124 (Thursday, September 29, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO SOUTH LYNCHES FIRE DEPARTMENT

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                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 29, 2005

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the South 
Lynches Fire Department and to recognize their 50 years of service to 
the South Carolina counties of Florence and Williamsburg. Chartered as 
the Lake City Rural Fire Department on January 27, 1955, they started 
with only one tanker. Today, they have 19 vehicles with which a full 
time staff and 125 volunteers provide fire and rescue services to the 
250 square mile area that encompasses the South Lynches Fire District.
  The original directors of the department in 1955 were S. Keels 
Brockington, Sr., H. Raymond Askins, Sr., Roy Rogers, J.P. Grimsley, 
L.W. McDaniel, Joe Tucker, and Walter Moody. Within 10 years, the 
department had completed a permanent home and secured a second tanker. 
The department changed its name in the middle 1970s to the Lower 
Florence County Fire Department as it had expanded its coverage beyond 
the Lake City area. In 1982, residents created the South Lynches Fire 
District establishing the area that the department currently services.
  The South Lynches Fire Department today operates out of six locations 
within the district. The original station, in Lake City, is still 
operational. Station 2 ``Coward'' was built in 1971. Station 3 ``Camp 
Branch'' was built in 1979, Station 4 ``Cades'' in 1979, Station 5 
``Leo-Camerontown'' in 1979, and Station 6 ``Scranton'' in 1990.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me today in 
honoring the South Lynches Fire Department as they celebrate their 50th 
anniversary. I thank each and every member of the Department for their 
service over the last 50 years and wish them great success and Godspeed 
in the future.

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