BAMBERG -- The expansion of fire stations in Ehrhardt and Denmark to include EMS services is among the long-range goals of Bamberg County to enhance services in those communities.

Discussion of the fire station expansion arose during Monday night's Bamberg County Council meeting when the council gave first-reading approval of transferring ownership of the trailer from which EMS services are provided in Ehrhardt to the Town of Ehrhardt.

EMS trailers in both Ehrhardt and Denmark were donated to the county by the Savannah River Site. Bamberg County contracts with the Bamberg Rescue Squad to provide EMS services in both municipalities. As part of the contract, the county has provided the facilities for the services.

"We've got to come up with some better space that doesn't leak ... for the emergency services. Anytime a situation comes up in those two towns, they have to bring the truck back to Bamberg. What we're looking at researching is adding them (EMS services in each town) onto the fire stations," County Administrator Rose Dobson-Elliott said.

She said the county is using half of the trailer in Ehrhardt for EMS services, but wasn't sure what the town was using the other half for.

"They are willing to take ownership in it and then fix their half because they need some more room for additional activities. We can keep EMS in there until we come up with an alternate solution," Dobson-Elliott said.

She said County Fire Coordinator Brenna Hancock would hopefully have a proposal as to how long the process would take by the council's Dec. 3 meeting. She said she and Hancock were also "working on" how to fund the expansion venture.

Denmark City Administrator Heyward Robinson on Tuesday said the county's EMS trailer is located behind Denmark City Hall. He said expansion plans involving its replacement have not been finalized.

"We're looking at long-range planning. We're just in preliminary conversation with Denmark, and it's just ... between the county fire coordinator and the fire chief of Denmark," Dobson-Elliott said Tuesday. "Once we have a proposal that I feel we can take to the Denmark City Council, we'll be talking with Mr. Robinson and the council. We're just not there yet."

As far as the transfer of the trailer to Ehrhardt, Council Chairperson Dot Tatum said she didn't understand why the council would not transfer it.

"It's not worth anything. It's got mildew in it and everything else. Rose (Dobson-Elliott) has been working six months trying to get a place for EMS to go," she said.

In other business, the council tabled until its Dec. 3 meeting payment of a matching amount of $10,200 as part of a $204,000 FEMA grant which the Clear Pond Fire Department received for a new fire truck. The council agreed to have the public safety committee, Hancock and the chiefs from each county fire department meet to draft a status report for the council. This came after Hancock's report, which included a list of what the fire departments have and have not completed on the County Fire Service's TRG Plan.

"I'm just trying to figure out how we move this issue and dilemmas that we have on fire service forward. Most of these goals ... are short-term goals that look like they were supposed to be completed sometime in '05," said Bamberg County Councilman Chris Wilson, noting that developing pre-fire plans were among the largely uncompleted goals.

"We have an administrator and a fire service coordinator that are to report to council and keep council informed of those things. We don't need a situation, where each and every one of us is going out talking to each and every fire chief about what their situation is. We're piecemealing fire service in this county," he said, adding that this leads to residents paying more money for less service.

Also during the meeting, council:

* Gave first reading in title only to an ordinance to increase the number of members on the litter board from seven to 21 and stipulate a regular meeting time of 4:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month at County Council chambers. The council requested that the administrator bring back a recommendation on how board membership should be made up following her meeting with the board on Tuesday.

* Gave second-reading approval to a proposed ordinance related to manufactured homes.

* Gave first-reading approval to establish and enforce a false alarm ordinance. The ordinance provides standards and policies regarding the interfacing of fire and burglary alarm devices into the Central Communications Center and protects the county's fire and law enforcement services from misuse.

* Gave second-reading approval to a proposed ordinance for a comprehensive plan for the county.

* Heard from County Building Inspector Bill Johnson that an affordable housing seminar will be held from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15 at Denmark-Technical College. To register, call Johnson at 803-245-3111.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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