WAGENER, S.C. (WJBF) – After years of turmoil and law enforcement investigations, it’s new beginnings for the Wagener Fire Department.
It’s been almost a month since the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division arrested David Watson and Mark Redd, two former fire chiefs with the department.
New fire chief Hendrik Swanepoel took over shortly before that happened, and this weekend he’s getting operations up and running once again.
Redd was charged with breach of trust after he was accused of using the town’s bank account as his own while he was fire chief for nearly 10 years.
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.
Since then, Chief Swanepoel has been working to turn the fire department inside out.
A new sign is out front, gym equipment to keep his team in shape, and he’s brought on 15 firefighters in the span of 4 weeks.
“Since April, we haven’t had a fire department. We only had 2 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,” said Swanepoel.
Swanepoel says the 15 volunteer firefighters have been recruited from spaces across the county—and a group of individuals he’s calling “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.
Part of the new chief’s plan is building trust in the community.
He will also soon be adding a cadet program to give youth in the area the opportunity to get involved.
“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.
Captain Dylan Ortega is Chief Swanepoel’s right hand man, saying the idea of a youth program got him involved in the first place.
“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,” said Ortega.
Chief Swanepoel says he plans to interact with local schools and organizations to reach young people that are interested.
With the department up and running, it also allows for quicker response times to fires—something community members say is a must.
“Large numbers of our citizens are aging, and they’re living within the town limits—which are small, we’re a one-square mile town. So, it’s really important that we have dependable and reliable fire protection here,” said Joyce Jeffcoat-Derr, a candidate in the upcoming Wagener mayoral election.
The new chief says reopening the department with changes is part of his mission to move the fire department in a positive direction.
“My vision for this fire department is just to get the community back together. Not to have any problems with people walking out—I want my firefighters to stay with this department and just serve. Serve the community,” Swanepoel said. “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.”
Chief Swanepoel will be hosting an open house event from 10 AM to 4 PM Saturday morning at the fire department.
He says he wants this weekend to mark the start of a new chapter.
To learn more information about the event, visit their Facebook page here.
