The recruits begin a 2 week orientation on Monday and then head to Columbia for 8 weeks at the South Carolina Fire Academy

April 11, 2013 – The Bluffton Township Fire District was dispatched to two different structure fires. At approximately 9:30pm crews were dispatched to structure fire on Buck Island Road. Engine 320 arrived on scene and reported a fully involved  vacant structure with exposure to an adjacent shed. Due to the heavy volume of fire, the companies went into a defensive attack.  It took crews approximately 30 minutes to bring the fire under control and another 30 minutes to finish the overhaul on  the remaining debris. The fire is being investigated by the Bluffton Township Fire Marshalls and the Bluffton Police Department.

The second fire was dispatched at approximately 2:30am off of Simonsville Road. Engine 320 (again) arrived on scene and reported a 50% involved mobile home. Engine 320 stretched lines and  made an aggressive interior attack. It took approximately 20 minutes to bring the fire under control. The home was a total loss and the Red Cross was called in to assist the displaced family. The fire is being investigated by the Bluffton Township Fire Marshalls and the Bluffton Police Department. The Fire District was also assisted by Beaufort County EMS on both fires.

Units on scene for both incidents – Engine 320, 325, 323, Truck 375, Service 365, and Battalion 3.

April 8, 2013 – At Approximately 3:00pm, Engine 325, along with Beaufort County EMS, was dispatched to the intersection of Hwy 278 and Plantation Drive for a motor vehicle accident. Engine 325 arrived on scene, reported two vehicles with one person entrapped and requested Truck 375 to be dispatched.  It took crews approximately 15 Minutes to extricate the patient. One person was air lifted to Savannah.  One lane of 278 East bound was closed for the duration of the incident. The Bluffton Police Department is investigating the accident.

Units on scene – Engine 325, Truck 375, Squad 355, Battalion 3, and Engine 323 was Landing Zone Group Leader.

March 28 – At approximately 8:30pm, the Bluffton Township Fire District was dispatched to  Pin Oak St. for a reported structure fire. Engine 320 arrived on scene and reported a working fire with multiple structures involved. Engine 320 passed command to Battalion 1 and made an aggressive attack to slow the progression of the fire and protect any other exposures from involvement. Battalion 1  arrived on scene and requested an additional Engine Company to the scene and Hilton Head Island Fire and Rescue Engine 4 was requested for coverage at Station 33.  Once the additional companies were able to get their hand lines in place, it didn’t take long to bring the fires under control. Crews remained on scene for several hours looking for extension,  hidden fire and cooling hot spots. No injuries were reported. The fire is being invested by the BTFD Fire Marshall’s Office.

Units on scene – Engine 320, 323, 325, 324, Truck 375, Service 365, Battalion 1, 302, and 316(maintenance). Beaufort County EMS and Bluffton Police Department, also assisted on the scene.

Additional article.
http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/03/28/2440978/bluffton-firefighters-battle-pin.html

March 14, 2013 - At approximately 5:00pm Engine 325 and Beaufort County EMS were dispatched to the intersection of Highway 278 and Buck Island Road for a motor vehicle accident with entrapment, involving a tractor trailer and a passenger vehicle. Truck 375, which just cleared up from a small kitchen fire, responded and arrived on scene immediately, confirmed the entrapment and called for the Air Ambulance. Engine 320 was dispatched to set up a Landing Zone on Highway 278. It took crews approximately 15 minutes to extricate the driver of the passenger vehicle. The patient was taken to a local trauma center by air ambulance. Highway 278 was shut down for approximately one hour. The accident is being investigated Bluffton Police Department.

Units on scene – Engine 325, 320, Truck 375, Squad 355, and Battalion 2

March 11, 2013 – At approximately 6pm Engine 324 was dispatched to the Town of Hardeeville in response to a request for  mutual aid to a reported structure fire. Engine 324 arrived on scene and dropped a supply line to the Hardeeville Engine. The reported fire was contained in a con ex box that had been converted into a wood drying facility. The drying facility was full of split wood in the process of being dried, which made extinguishing the fire very difficult. Engine 324 remained on scene for approximately 20 minutes and then released by command.

February 22, 2013 – At approximately 7:30 pm, the Bluffton Township Fire District was dispatched to the Eagles Point Golf Cart Storage for a reported structure fire. Battalion 3 arrived on scene and reported heavy fire conditions. Due to the amount of fire, companies went straight to a defensive attack with an elevated master stream off of Truck 375 and a master stream off of Engine 325. It took firefighters approximately 45 minutes to bring the fire under control. Hand lines with foam were used to continue with the mop up. There was great concern with runoff from the battery acid in the carts so DHEC was called in to monitor the water runoff on scene. The fire is currently under investigation by the Bluffton Township Fire Marshal and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Units on scene – Engine 325, 324, 320, Truck 375, Service 365, Battalion 3, 301, 302, 303, and Beaufort County EMS.

February 14, 2013 – The Bluffton Park way was shut down early this morning due to a motor vehicle accident. Around 2:00am, the Bluffton Township Fire District and Beaufort County EMS were dispatched to the Bluffton Parkway for a motor vehicle accident with entrapment. Units arrived on scene to find one vehicle upside down with the occupant still inside. It took rescue crews approximately 10-15 minutes to extricate the victim and package for transport. The vehicle’s occupant was transported to a Savannah Hospital by ground. The Parkway was closed for a little over an hour while crews cleaned up the scene. The Accident is being investigated by The Bluffton Police Department.

Units on scene – Engine 320, 325, Truck 375, Squad 355, and Battalion 3.

February 13, 2013 – A small grease fire disrupted the evening shopping for some Food Lion workers and customers. Around 6:15pm, the Bluffton Twp Fire District was dispatched to Food Lion on Fording Island Road for a reported fire. Units arrived on scene and found that there was a small grease fire in the deli area of the store. The fire was actually put out with a fire extinguisher  by a quick thinking employee. All units were returned to service quickly while one Engine Company and Truck Company remained on scene to assist Food Lion with smoke removal. Customers were allowed back in the building within 30 minutes.

January 29, 2013 - A woman's body was found inside a car that burned on the side of S.C. 46 in greater Bluffton early Tuesday.

A Honda Civic was engulfed in flames near the highway's intersection with Big Bluff Road when firefighters arrived at about 2:30 a.m., Bluffton Township Fire District Battalion Chief Todd Harvey said.

The woman's body was found in the driver's seat after the fire was extinguished, Harvey said.

Beaufort County Deputy Coroner David Ott said the woman's identity will not be released until an autopsy is performed today at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. "We're going to hold it until she has been positively identified," Ott said.

Officials do not know if the woman died as a result of the fire or before it ignited. Harvey also said they have no clues about what started the blaze.

"The car was just totally destroyed," Harvey said.

The fire district is responsible for determining the cause of the fire, Harvey said.

The car did not appear to have been involved in a wreck, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

The discovery of the woman's body occurred the day after Bluffton firefighters found a man's body inside a camper, which also was destroyed by fire, on All Joy Road. The Sheriff's Office had no updates Tuesday on the investigation of 55-year-old John Porzio's death. Harvey said the fire district, along with S.C. Law Enforcement Division investigators, have not determined the cause or origin of the fire Monday that consumed the camper, however, they do not believe it was suspicious.

Story by Allison Stice of the Island Packet

January 28, 2013 - A man's body was found inside a camper that caught fire Monday on All Joy Road in Bluffton, triggering an investigation involving three agencies.

Bluffton firefighters arrived at about 12:15 p.m. to find the camper, parked behind a home at 83 All Joy Road, in flames.

Battalion Chief Todd Harvey of the Bluffton Township Fire District said three engine companies and a ladder crew extinguished the fire in less than 10 minutes; the camper was destroyed.

The body of 55-year-old John Porzio was found inside, according to the Beaufort County Coroner's Office.

He is a relative of the homeowner, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office news release.

The fire scene, set back from the road in the woods, was cordoned off with caution tape. Investigators with the S.C. Law Enforcement Division arrived to help determine the cause of the fire.

Authorities did not call the fire suspicious. According to the release, SLED was called because a fatality was involved.

The body was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston for an autopsy. Story By ALLISON STICE Island Packet

November 19, 2012 – Around 8:00am, Engine 320 and Beaufort County EMS were dispatched to the intersection on Bluffton Parkway and Simmonsville Road for a reported motor vehicle accident. Engine 320 arrived on scene and reported two vehicles involved, one vehicle rolled over and  no entrapment. One person was transported to a local hospital. The accident is being investigated by the Town of Bluffton Police Department. The accident had sections of both roads closed for approximately 45 minutes.