A Message from Town Council

Dear Residents,

A 2018 letter from the Colleton County Fire Chief to our former administrator was reprinted in the December and January editions of the local newspaper. The letter discusses fire protection provided by our local fire department. Questions regarding the content of the letter have been brought to Town Council. We are writing to help explain the content of the letter from the Town Council’s perspective.

The 2018 letter was not brought to Council’s attention and thus, never discussed during any of Council’s meetings. At the same time, questions began to circulate within the Edisto Beach community about the Colleton County Fire Department taking over operation of the Edisto Beach Fire Department. Colleton County has explained that any offer for the Colleton County Fire Department to take over the Edisto Beach Fire Department is not sustainable. Staffing and other challenges would prevent the County from any support of Edisto Beach Emergency Operations beyond our current Fire Service Protection Agreement, which is ongoing.

There have never been any plans for Colleton County to take over our fire department, let go of our firefighters, or dissolve our volunteer program. Town Council and administration are not looking into such an option. Edisto Beach Town Council believes that to dismantle our fire department and allow it to be operated and managed by an agency outside of the Town’s authority is not in the Town’s best interests.

Our fire department is fully qualified, trained, and prepared for any contingency. Our volunteers are a critical part of this organization. Our citizenry has always had -- and maintains-- a great relationship with our team and our team with them, whether it be the fire department, law enforcement, building, utilities, or administration.

We hope that this clears up any questions there may be regarding this matter. Thank you for your continued support of each of our Edisto Beach departments.

With Kindest Regards,
Town Council, Town of Edisto Beach SC

W Crawford Moore Jr, Mayor
Jerome Kizer, Mayor Pro Temp
Bob Renner, Councilman
Jay Watts, Councilman
Joey Bagwell, Councilman