RINCON — Car accident? Structure fire? Cat stuck in a tree?

Whatever the situation, the Rincon Fire Department is prepared to handle it.

The department covers 88 square miles, accounting for 40 percent of the county’s population, in addition to 81 square miles via a contract with the Effingham County Board of Commissioners. 

On July 1, 2023, the service contract with the county will end, moving the Rincon department’s service back into the nine square miles of the city proper. Effingham County Fire & Rescue will take back responsibility of 81 square miles. 

Rincon’s growth has been exponential in recent years. In 2000, the population was 4,376, By 2010, it grew to 8,836, nearly a 50% increase.

Rincon’s current population is 10,934 with even more growth anticipated for the forseeable future.

Lou Reed has served as interim chief of the department since Corey Rahn retired Dec. 15, 2021. He began working for it in 2011 and was one of the first three 24-hour firemen that were hired. 

The department had daytime firemen on staff until then when it transitioned to daytime plus 24-hour. Reed said the department began service in 1954.

“The fire service has really changed over the years,” he said. “The new generation firefighter has to not only be able to deal with the public, he also has to deal with medical calls, hazardous materials.” 

Reed went on to say that Rincon firefighters are trained to yse many life-saving tools including oxygen, AEDs (Automatic External Defibrulators), jaws of life and more. Their task is to stabilize a patient and wait on EMS to arrive.

Reed said there have been a couple of fires this year where the victims lost everything they had. One of the blazes claimed the home of a member of the department.

People from as far away as Tennessee and Ohio reached out to help the firefighter, Reed said. Afterward, the donations that weren’t needed were stored for future use.

“When the tornado hit Bryan County (recently), they loaded up the container and took it to the elementary school for the people who were affected by the 11-mile tornado on the ground,” Reed said.

Rincon fire teams were sent to help Bryan County shortly after the tornado hit the ground, clearing roads and helping with search and rescue.

Reed has said his department’s biggest challenge “is simply the growth and expansion that we have right now. We are exploding with growth.”

He said growth is creating changes for all first responders. He said, on average, the department gets 200 more calls each year than the previous one.

Last month, the department had 11 fires, 141 emergency medical calls, six hazardous conditions, 14 calls for service and 21 false alarms.

Noting the rise in the number and size of warehouses in the area, Reed said they are a fire concern even though they have sprinkler systems. 

“If there is a fire there, the manpower is a great issue,” Reed said. “The resources and manpower that are tied up on those facilities are astronomical.”

Currently, the department has 11 full-time staffers and about 10 volunteers. Reed said they have a really good group of volunteers but that it is difficult to recruit new members. He urges anyone who has an interest in firefighting to come and check it out. Training is provided.

The department has a new truck, a class A pumper that carries 1,750 gallons of water and all the newest rescue technology. A new thermal imaging device is part of the new rescue gear. This will allow crews to find people in heavy smoke and fire situations. 

New E-draulics jaws of life are part of the new equipment. That means they won’t have to be tethered to the truck because they are battery powered.