hundreds attend fire fest on saturday
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7/27/2019 Hundreds Attend Fire Fest on Saturday
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Hundreds attend Fire Fest on Saturday
By Martin L. Cahn
803-432-6157 ext. 115
October 1, 2013
Hundreds of people -- perhaps several thousand -- attended Camdens 18th annual Fire Fest at Rhame Arena
Saturday. Many of those people lined a long stretch of Broad Street to watch as hundreds of fire trucks and related
vehicles -- some vintage and some from as far away as Pennsylvania -- paraded through the city to the arena. Those
same people cheered as a pair of skydivers, one trailing South Carolinas Palmetto flag, the other the American flag,
landed in a field behind the arena.
Inside the arena, Kershaw County Fire Marshal Gene Faulkenberry, Lugoff Fire Department Chief Dennis Ray and
Camden Fire Department Chief John Bowers welcomed the public. Bowers provided a brief history of the Cleveland
School fire, which took place 90 years in May 1923.
Seventy-seven people died in one tragic fire, Bowers said. Almost everyone in Kershaw County had a relative in
that fire.
He said what was learned from the tragedy has since saved thousands of lives, thanks to changes in building codes,
especially where schools and other public buildings are concerned. The 77 dead were among several hundred people
attending an end-of-school-year play on the schools second-floor auditorium. The fire started when a coal lamp
lighting the stage fell. From there, the only two ways to get out were down a narrow stairway that ended in a boyscloak room or out the window.
Bowers compared what happened 90 years ago, to what he said was a somewhat similar 10 years ago in West
Warwick, R.I. On Feb. 20, 2003, The Station nightclub erupted in flames after pyrotechnics were set off inside the
club during a concert and set fire to sound insulation. Fire engulfed the club in just five-and-a-half minutes, killing
exactly 100 people and injuring approximately 230 others.
A cameraman insideshowed just how fast the fire spread, Bowers said, noting that a blocked exit -- very much like
the Cleveland School fire, hindered evacuation. Today, auditoriums have to be on the ground floor and all exit doors
have to open outward.
Also inside the arena, several groups and sponsors had brochures, goodies, games and food available. There were
fire safety demonstrations, including clowns from a Greenville, N.C., fire prevention team; performances by Dance
Extraordinaire; a Battle of the Badges Red Cross blood drive competition between local police officers and
firefighters; kitchen fire demonstration; and Explorers and firefighter challenges.
According to a city of Camden press release issued Monday, competition results were as follows:
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected] -
7/27/2019 Hundreds Attend Fire Fest on Saturday
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Adult Midnight Alarm -- 1st Place, Dobys Mill Fire Department Team 1 (1:47.47); 2nd Place, Lugoff Fire
Department (1:49.81); 3rd Place, KershawHealth EMS (2:12.93); 4th Place, Dobys Mill Fire Department Team 2
(2:46.56)
Explorer Midnight Alarm -- 1st Place, Camden Fire Department Team 1 (1:56.72); 2nd Place, Camden Fire
Department Team 2 (2:23.97); 3rd Place, Lugoff Fire Department Team 2 (2:39.34); 4th Place, Lugoff FireDepartment Team 1 (2:43.03); 5th Place, Bennettsville Fire Department Team 2 (2:50.41)
Explorer Team Quick Dress -- 1st Place, Camden Fire Department Team (50.32 seconds); 2nd Place, Bennettsville
Fire Department Team (1:06.25); 3rd Place, Lugoff Fire Department Team (1:08.46)
Fastest Male -- Ben Moseley (Camden Fire Department), 38.66 seconds
Fastest Female -- Bayleigh Eubanks (Camden Fire Department), 50.44 seconds