CFD To Get New Headquarters!

Mayor Joe Riley announced this week during his State of the City address that the Charleston Fire Department will be getting a new Headquarters Fire Station on the site of the old Station 9 at the corner of King and Heriot Streets in the upper penisular. Plans call for the new building to house two engine companies and the CFD Hazardous Materials response units.

Best Wishes to Good Friends!

This past week, one of our own, Battalion Chief John Winn, was hospitalized and now must face some uncertain times as he begins his journey to beat his illness. As I visited him in the hospital, I stood in line outside of his room to get my opportunity to visit with him and Debbie. There were so many firefighters and supporters there that we actually took turns going in to his room. One of the nurses approached me and said that she had never seen so many visitors for one person. I told her that first, that was John Winn in there and once she got to know him, she would understand why so many were there. I also asked her if she had ever had a firefighter under her care and she said “no”. Well, I told her that if she ever did again, she would see another large group of people because firefighters looked at life a little differently. She said it was an amazing thing to see and she was truly touched.

Well, as we all expected, Chief Winn took the news of his illness with the spirit to do whatever he has to do to beat it. In his normal fashion, he continues to worry more about his family and his firefighters than himself and plans on returning to duty next week. Rest assured, Chief John and Debbie, that the support shown by all the firefighters last week will continue to follow you both in the coming weeks and months.

Memorial Service Set for Captain Richard Ridge

The memorial service for Captain Richard E. Ridge, CFD Retired, has been set for Saturday, January 14, 2012, at 11:00 a.m, at the Stuhr's Funeral Chapel located at 3360 Glenn McConnell Parkway, Charleston, South Carolina. Fire Service personnel are asked to attend in uniform and parking for all fire apparatus will be in the right side parking lot at the funeral home.

Capt. Richard Ridge Passes.................

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of Capt. Richard Ridge, CFD Retired. Capt. Ridge passed away this evening at the Hospice Center in Mount Pleasant after a courageous battle with cancer. He was a true friend to all who knew him and we are all better for having him in our lives. Please keep his wife, Maggie and his daughters, Kellen, Heather, and Candice in your thoughts and prayers. Funeral arrangements will be announced later this week.

A Mystery Solved...........

For some time now, there has been a photo hanging in Fire Department Headquarters of an early CFD Chief's car. The identity of the two occupants of the car, obviously a Chief Officer and a driver, were unknown until recently when I recognized the driver as Charles Pequette, a member in the fire department who, until becoming the Chief's driver, was an active leader of the truck company, located on John Street in those days. I had seen his photograph in some of the truck company photos with his name listed. The mystery remained as to who the Chief Officer was until today, when my son, Grant Mishoe, of SCOnFire, provided us with his research on the subject.

On July 17, 1915, the Chief's car, being driven by Chauffeur Pequette, was enroute to a fire at Box No. 454 on the corner of Coming and Montague Street. Asst. Chief Michael J. Morris was riding on the passenger side when they collided with a City of Charleston Police car at the corner of Calhoun Street and St. Phillip Street. Chauffeur Pequette was thrown from the vehicle and suffered a severe skull fracture. Chief Morris was pinned under the dash and died from his injuries. In addition, several police officers were injured in the collision.

Grant was able to get a copy of Chief Morris' death certificate documenting his cause of death as well as the photo of the wrecked Chief's car. Special thanks to him for his work in solving this mystery for us.

Apartment Fire in North Charleston!

North Charleston firefighters responded to an apartment fire on Rolling Fork Road on Tuesday afternoon. Upon arrival they found heavy fire and smoke conditions in a single building housing four different apartments. The first-in crews mounted an aggressive interior attack until aerial apparatus were in place. Command then changed over to an equally aggressive defensive attack that stopped the fire in its tracks.

The North Chuck crews were backed up by units from Charleston, St. Andrews and James Island. Nice work by the Command, Safety, Accountability and Staging officers ensured a safe and orderly operation. A small pup was rescued by fire crews and is recovering in a local animal hospital. Thankfully, no one else was injured.

Congratulations to Our New Engineers!

Eight members of the Charleston Fire Department (pictured above, top to bottom) Chris Tennyson, Clifton Schurlknight, Trevor Miles, John Lemacks, Ed Henry, Todd Herring, Alex Glover, and Daniel Chavous, have recently been promoted to Engineer. Their promotions and new station assignments will be effective on Saturday, January 7, 2012.

Congratulations to each of them for this accomplishment!