RAVENEL, SC (WCSC) – A Lowcountry fire department serving the second-largest area in the state is replacing a historic station to serve the growing community of Ravenel.
The St. Paul’s Fire District will begin construction on a new fire station on Hyde Park Road in Ravenel at 10 a.m. Friday morning. The $3 million project will replace the current 1,000-square-foot second station building.
According to the fire department, the old building was too small for modern firefighting. The building was built four decades ago with sleeping quarters for the staff.
Truss Johnson, fire chief of the St. Paul Fire Department, says the former building, despite minor upgrades in recent years, was too small to serve the growing Ravenel community.
“Very small… we’ve expanded over the years, but it just wasn’t equipped for the level of personnel that we need in modern firefighting,” Johnson says. “The growth we’re seeing in the area requires larger vehicles, more personnel, more specialized equipment and this station will, I think, meet all of those needs.”
The new 10,000 square foot station will be one of the largest firehouses in the area. The building will have three dormitories for each crew member, a fire engine and a water tanker. Fire crews will also have a new training center for drills.
The building will also serve as a storage facility for equipment during extreme weather conditions that affect the Edisto Beach areas. Fire department personnel and equipment will be safely transported to the new facility to better protect the affected areas. Fire department officials say the property is ideal because it is close to the fire department headquarters and sits on land that is not prone to flooding.
Johnson says the new station will be decorated with memorabilia from the previous building. The fire chief says the old Station 2 was originally built by community members in the early stages of a volunteer fire station. He says the new building will have the old kitchen countertops and pictures on the walls to emphasize the sentimental value of the property.
“The old kitchen table, just the table top, we’re going to put it in a shadow box and hang it on the wall,” Johnson says. “Along with a picture of the old fire station and a picture of the new fire station on the wall. I think that would be a pretty good addition. Just as a memorial and a tribute to the old volunteers that came along and the new era that’s now dawning in the fire service.”
The fire district’s discussions about the construction began in 2021. The former station has already been demolished. Construction work is scheduled to be completed in a year.
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