This 1988 Emergency One, on a Spartan chassis, was purchased new by the West Florence Fire Department in Florence County, South Carolina. Our Team was fortunate to have it donated to us last Fall when we were in search of an appropriate truck to convert to a caisson vehicle to transport our firefighters to their final resting place. This need arose when many departments changed their guidelines to only use their trucks when it involved a line-of-duty death. Departments that still provided the service were faced with their new trucks having very high hose beds, making the loading of a casket difficult. We are now able to serve the families of firefighters lost to illnesses or accidents, and outside the line of duty. We are also honored to serve the families of our retired firefighters upon request.
As we evaluated the project, we felt we needed a truck we could alter and Chief Howard Worrell of the West Florence Fire Department, County Fire Coordinator Sam Brockington, and the members of the Florence County Council answered our call for help. We were given this truck in October 2022, and it has been undergoing renovation since that time. We debuted it last week at our Emergency Services Behavioral Health Summit. We first removed the water tank and hose bed enabling us to lower the floor three feet. We added benches for pallbearers or an honor guard and installed a casket roller in the bed to facilitate the loading of the casket. All the disassembly of the tank and hose bed, adding the metal work, upholstery, and benches were completed by our Team members. Originals of the mural that adorn both sides are from an original by Stacy Lundy and represent five generations of fire trucks used locally over the years.
This service is available by request to any fire department in our State by contacting us at info@firefightersupport.org or at 843-609-8300.
Special thanks to Nicole Brown and Paul Davis Restoration for their financial assistance in making this project possible.