S.C. House Fire Highlights Fire Department’s Shrinking Response Area Amid Funding Troubles

By MES Dispatch staff

The Briefing

• A homeowner in Wagener, South Carolina, said the local fire department did not respond to his house fire Jan. 2 because the property was outside its reduced coverage area.
• The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office said the address was technically outside Wagener’s response plan.
• Former Wagener Fire Chief Hendrik Swanepoel said decreased funding has shrunk the department’s service area from about 95 square miles to around 1.5 square miles.
• Funding shortfalls have left the department with just enough to fuel apparatus, Swanepoel said.
• Past leadership controversies and investigations into fire fees have also affected the department in recent years.

WAGENER, SC — A house fire Jan. 2 drew firefighters from neighboring departments but not from the Wagener Fire Department after the property was determined to be outside the town’s reduced coverage area, officials said.

Homeowner O’Neal Miller said he watched crews from Salley, Couchton and New Holland fight the blaze that heavily damaged the rear of his Collum Pond Road residence, and he expressed disappointment that Wagener units did not respond.

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office said the fire occurred outside the department’s response plan, as Miller’s property lies beyond the town limits and the department’s current service boundaries.

Former Wagener Fire Chief Hendrik Swanepoel said funding cuts have forced the department to shrink its coverage area from roughly 95 square miles to about 1.5 square miles, leaving limited capacity for calls beyond that zone. Swanepoel, who resigned in November, said dwindling tax revenue and a lack of resources have made it difficult to maintain essential equipment.

The Wagener Fire Department did not respond to requests for comment. In recent years, the department has faced leadership controversies, including the arrest of two former chiefs on breach of trust charges and disputes over the handling of fire fees, events that contributed to local scrutiny of funding and operations.