Wagener, SC, Firefighters Responding to Calls Again

Editor's Note: The Wagener Fire Department is hosting an open house from 10-4 today (Sept. 13).

Something different is happening this weekend in Wagener.

Firefighters are responding to calls.

“Since April, we haven’t had a fire department. We only had two people responding. So now it’s all about getting the community to feel safe, and know that they can come here any time. Call the fire department, and we will be there for any problems they have,” Fire Chief Hendrik Swanepoel told WJBF. 

The department has been in turmoil since South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) initiated a probe that culminated last month with the arrests of two former fire chiefs. 

Mark Redd was charged with bch of trust after he allegedly used the town’s bank account as his own while he was fire chief for nearly 10 years.

Redd is accused of writing checks to himself and family members, as well as purchasing firearm components unrelated to his duties as chief, totaling approximately $7,369.94, according to the charging documents.

David Watson was charged with breach of trust and misconduct in office for claiming 10s of thousands of dollars of overtime that he didn’t work.

The new chief is excited about the department's future and the 15 firefighters who've joined including some highly qualified.

“We’ve got people from the Savannah River Site who have come and joined us. We’ve got people from the Navy who are retired. So, it’s very exciting for me to have them join the team,” Swanepoel said.

It's vital to restore a trusting, nuturing relationship with residents.

“My vision for this fire department is just to get the community back together...I want my firefighters to stay with this department and just serve. Serve the community. This doesn’t belong to me. It doesn’t belong to the firefighters. It’s the community who this belongs to. We are open for them.”

He and others also are excited about establishing a cadet program to introduce and train youths about the fire service.  

“They won’t run calls. But we’ll teach them the right way because that’s where the future goes. The cadet program is where it starts, and when we retire they can take over,” the new chief added.

Capt. Dylan Ortega spoke of his own experience with a cadet program.

“When I was 16, I joined the local volunteer fire department here. They treated me like a firefighter, brought me in as family. And, I would like to say,  it saved me life from a future that I didn’t know what it was. It brought me to the fire service, and now I’m 33,” he said.

As they open the new chapter, the firefighters opened their doors Saturday to greet residents.