From Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department 

Recently, one of the Swan Quarter Volunteer Fire Department’s firefighters graduated from Beaufort County Community College’s inaugural Fire and Rescue Academy. William (Tanner) Equils, of Swan Quarter, was one of eight students — each of who are volunteer firefighters in their own communities — to earn certification.

Johnny Williams, director of fire training at BCCC, explained that graduates of the nine-month-long academy earn North Carolina firefighter certification in five categories: firefighting; HazMat response; emergency vehicle driving; technical rescue; and vehicle rescue.

“Within the four North Carolina counties (Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington) in BCCC’s service area, there are 26 fire departments. Of those 26, only one department has paid employees — all of the other departments are volunteer,” Williams said. “That means that in addition to working their regular-paying jobs, these volunteer firefighters are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to serve their communities. I am very pleased to have the academy up and running here in Beaufort County. It has been difficult for many of these rural cadets to get to training — they often had to drive to Wilson to attend an academy. Students attend our academy three nights a week — the only academy that offers night classes — and every other Saturday.”

Equils is also enrolled full-time in BCCC’s agribusiness technology program and expects to graduate next May with an Associate in Applied Science degree. It was difficult for him to juggle all the classes and several times he contemplated quitting the academy, but he is really glad he stuck with it.

“I came into the academy knowing absolutely nothing about fire service, except that fire is hot and you spray water on a fire and it goes out,” he said. “When I joined the SQVFD, Chief Stotesberry told me I’d have to have some training before I could do anything.” “Every single class was a learning experience, not only about the fire service, but about the brotherhood that is the fire service,” Equils continued. “The academy was more than just training to me — it was the start of something that is going to be a part of my life forever.”

“I was honored to be part of the very first BCCC Fire and Rescue Academy,” Equils said proudly.

Upon graduation, he was presented with a traditional cadet helmet in place of the “turtle-shell” fire helmet he used during training. “I was run over with happiness when that happened, and my leather shield for my helmet came in the mail just days after graduation,” he said.

He plans to get his EMT certification next semester and will be required to have an additional 36 hours of training each year to remain on a roster and to be considered certified with the state. Whether his future is with a department with paid employees or not, he is insistent: “I don’t plan to ever stop volunteering.”

The SQVFD is one of six volunteer fire departments in Hyde County. It was established in 1971 by a group of citizens who were concerned with providing an organized fire safety presence for the community. Since that time, their area of operation has expanded, as has the level of services they provide. Today, they operate with 25 unpaid volunteers who provide not only fire incident response, but also first responder service for medical emergencies. They also work with the Hyde County Schools to provide fire safety awareness to the youth of the community.