Fairfield County Fire Service

Fairfield County Fire Service protects the residents of Fairfield County, South Carolina, primarily the rural areas outside the Winnsboro and Ridgeway town limits. Fire protection in the county traces back to 1971, when Winnsboro Mills residents organized the first active station, the Community Fire Department. Additional community departments formed over the following decades under a county Rural Fire Protection Board.

Effective November 1, 2019, eleven separate departments consolidated into a single county fire service, with each former department continuing to operate as a district within the unified organization.

The department combines fire suppression, emergency medical response, and community fire-safety education, and relies heavily on volunteers serving as firefighters, EMTs, drivers, and administrative support. It also runs a Junior Firefighter Program and a smoke-alarm request service for residents.

Fairfield County Fire Service actively recruits volunteers, including firefighters, emergency medical technicians, apparatus drivers, and administrative support staff. The department looks for applicants who bring selflessness, teamwork, integrity, fitness, courage, and commitment, and develops competence through formal training, referencing the South Carolina Fire Academy as a training resource.

To apply, prospective volunteers can call the department office at 803-712-1070 or visit in person at 880 West Moultrie St, Suite 300, Winnsboro, SC 29180 to pick up an application.