Lexington County Fire Service, Cayce Fire Department, Irmo Fire District and West Columbia Fire Department received Fire Safe South Carolina 2023 Community Designation from Fire Safe South Carolina and its partners, according to a news release.

151 departments in South Carolina received the honor, representing a 15% increase. According to the release, "these designated communities continually work to reduce fires and related injuries in South Carolina resulting in decreased risks for residents and firefighters. They also promote consistent fire safety messaging and learn the importance of collecting and reporting quality data from fire scenes."

“The enthusiasm for obtaining this designation continues to grow,” Community Risk Reduction Chief Josh Fulbright said in the release. “Many departments have received this recognition for the first time, some seek it again with new purpose and others receiving since the 2017 inception continue to build depth within their organization.”

To earn the designation, departments must complete courses to improve data quality, train community partners to deliver in-home safety visits, and further develop their skills through online National Fire Academy courses in risk reduction and assessment. Because of their efforts, last year, 250 community partners were identified, nearly 500 fire service members were educated on risk reduction-related topics, and more than 650,000 citizens were educated on fire and life safety topics.

“As a result of the hard work, commitment and dedication of our 151 Fire Safe South Carolina fire departments and their community partners, more than half a million citizens were educated on ways to stay ‘Fire Safe,’” Fulbright said. “Efforts will not stop there. We will continue to work together to educate even more people and implement other risk reduction practices proactively to get ahead of calls for service in South Carolina.”

Departments will be formally recognized in June during an award ceremony at the Fire-Rescue Conference in Myrtle Beach.

When it started in 2017, partners in Fire Safe S.C. included the S.C. State Firefighters’ Association, the S.C. State Association of Fire Chiefs, the S.C. Fire Marshal Association, the S.C. Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators and the S.C. Office of State Fire Marshal.