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Sanford chats with fire chiefs
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| By Scott Harper,
sharper@gtowntimes.com |
October
20, 2006 |
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With several fire trucks and yellow “do not cross” tape in
the parking lot of the Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort, passersby
may think there is some sort of an emergency.
But, the trucks are
not there to battle a blaze. They are on display as part of the 62nd
Annual State Association of Fire Chiefs conference. This is the
first time the conference — which began Thursday and concludes
Saturday — has been held in Georgetown County.
Georgetown City
Fire Chief Joey Tanner will be sworn in as the organization’s new
president during a ceremony Saturday.
The highlight of the
conference was a visit from Gov. Mark Sanford, who spent about 45
minutes in a informal candid chat session with the fire chiefs
Thursday.
Sanford, who chose to stand in the middle of the group
rather than behind a specially-built podium on the stage, began his
remarks by thanking the firefighters for the jobs they
perform.
“Some of you are in full-time positions but the core of
our firefighters in this state are unpaid volunteers. You folks make
a real sacrifice,” Sanford said.
Sanford then opened the floor
for questions. Those who quizzed the governor wanted to know what
his plans are for helping fire departments across the state do their
jobs more effectively. In particular, concerns were expressed about
the fact fire departments are regulated in South Carolina under the
same category as barbers and beauticians.
“All fire departments
in this state come under the auspices of the Department of Labor,
Licensing and
SEE SANFORD //
Page 4A
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| ©Georgetown Times 2006
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