If you have travelled on West Butler Road at all in the last several months, you have surely noticed the new Fire Station being built on the corner of West Butler and Plant Street.

The building is the new Headquarters for the Mauldin Fire Department.

The old Headquarters building  at 9 East Butler Road is closed.  It awaits its final disposition by the Mauldin City Council.

The new location will allow better coverage by the Fire Department for the new homes and businesses in the fast-growing western part of Mauldin.

The new building’s Grand Opening was held on April 19th.  The ceremony included speeches by a number of people, including Mauldin’s Fire Chief and Mayor.

Fire Chief McHone noted that the Mauldin Fire Department recently purchased two new fire trucks, and the first one-hundred-foot ladder truck.  The bigger ladder truck will become increasingly necessary as multi-story buildings are built in Mauldin.  Two new Quick Response Vehicles, for medical response, will soon be joining the Fire Department, as well.  The Chief also noted some of the recent equipment upgrades, as well as planned upgrades and new turnout gear over the next few years.  

Chief McHone presented some interesting numbers that put the Fire Department’s accomplishments into a poignant perspective:  for the four years of 2020-2023, the cost of Mauldin’s Fire Department was about $5,000,000.  But the estimated amount saved by residents and businesses in the City due to the Fire Department’s services is over $124,000,000 – quite an economic savings!

Mayor Merritt’s concerns for Mauldin’s residents and businesses  reflect the rapid growth of the Upstate and of Mauldin especially.  In 2010, Mauldin’s population was 23,000.  Today its population is 28,000.  By 2030, the City’s population is expected to be 35,000.  That is a large number for someone who remembers Mauldin when it was a one-stop-light town of 6,000 residents.

That growth, the Mayor noted, means a greater demand for public safety services, including the Fire Department.  It is imperative  that the Fire Department grows as well – particularly if response times are to be maintained and even improved.

Firemen have a number of traditional ceremonies of their own.  One of those is the “Uncoupling Ceremony.”  Both the Grand Opening ceremony’s speakers and members of the Fire Department participated.

The old Headquarters had become somewhat cramped over the years, as the City has grown in size and the Fire Department’s responsibilities have increased due to that growth.

The big new bays, with lots of room for trucks and equipment, of course, are the most obvious change.

But the facilities for the Firemen is much more spacious in the new building as well.

Of key importance is the changing room.  After returning from a call, clothing and equipment usually needs to be cleaned.  The new cleaning room makes life a lot easier for firemen cleaning up after a fire.

A bit of rest and relaxation after a call reduces the impact of stresses endured in the line of duty.

A Fireman stays on the job twenty-four hours a day for several days.  The Firehouse kitchen lets them easily prepare decent meals during that time.

Other rooms provide the technical support the Fire Department needs to be efficient and responsive.  That includes a watch room and supervisory offices.  

The new Headquarters building will include a Mauldin Police substation.  Police support is provided for all fire calls, to assure the firemens’ and the victims’ safety.

Tradition and mutual support and dependence on team members are cornerstones of a Firehouse’s operation.

The new Firehouse supports those attitudes, in a number of ways.

Sometimes, a Firehouse must honor the memory of comrades who have fallen in the line of duty.

Mauldin residents are the beneficiaries of the Fire Department’s determination to provide three-minute response times, anywhere in the City.

That high level of performance does not come easily, or by chance.  It requires the Fire Stations, the equipment, the training, and most of all the people who make up the Mauldin Fire Department 

Show your support any time you see them.  Mauldin Firemen do a great job; let them know that you know it, too.

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