NORRIS VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
Norris, SC 29667

HISTORY

Norris Volunteer Fire Department was formed in 1962. After a home burned on Garvin street and was totally lost, the men in town felt flustrated and decided there was a need to start their own fire department. About this same time the Easley-Central water district was formed to supply water to the town and surrounding area with city water and fire hydrants. Also, the town was looking to

Early group of Norris Firemen. (ca. 1962-1964) Front row (Officers): Bill Murphy(Treasurer), Ed Howe(Secretary), J. Harvey Bolding(Chief), William "Red" Summey(Asst. Chief), W. T. "Tob" Cook(Capt.) and Junior "Cigar" Herren(Lt.). Second Row: Harold Gaines, Blees Revis, ___ Gibson, Ray Patterson, Ed Merck, ????, Jack Bryant, Jule Merck, Herman Sprouse, Furman Powell, Wilburn Dorsey. Click here for a larger .jpeg version of the image.

build a town hall and the masonic lodge was going to build a building. There were several meetings held to determine what should be built. One idea was to build one building with the Masonic lodge on the top floor and the fire department on the first. The town clerk was needed on a part time basis and the town would contract out with the water district for one person to do both jobs. It was finally decided to build seperate buildings for the Masons and the fire department. This early group of firemen can be seen meeting together in the water district's filter plant. J. Harvey Bolding was selected to be our first fire chief and he served for almost 3 years. Over the years, the fire chiefs have included:

	J. Harvey Bolding
	William T. (Toby) Cook
	William (Bill) J. Murphy
	William (Red) Summey
	Wayne Pressley
	Bobby Maxey
	Jack Bryant
	Charlie Bowen
	Milton Burgess
	Billy Tapp
	John Cook, Jr.
	Tommy Davis
	Kevin Maxey

The department looked for a good used truck to start the fire service. Inquiries were put out for a truck and one from the Williamston Fire Department was looked at. Also, my father, John Cook, Sr., who was a used car dealer found a 1946 Chevrolet fire engine that had been used on the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia. It had 2 engines, the standard one under the hood and a Ford flat-head V-8 mounted sideways behind the cab that drove a large brass pump. The picture shown at left is after this truck had been retired.

The town used this truck for about 5 years as Engine 1 until a brand new truck was purchased from American LeFrance in 1968. The first engine became engine 2 until our tanker was brought online and the space was needed in our 2 bay building. It was sold around 1990 after sitting outside for a couple of years. Shortly thereafter we built a 4 bay building with drive through bays behind town hall and up the hill from our original building. We then knocked out a wall, added others and converted our old station building into a large meeting room, kitchen, chief's office and a decontamination area.

Our current Engine 1 carries 750 gallons of water, a 1000 GPM pump, side panel operator station, 2-1/2" supply line, (2) 1-1/2" preconnect attack lines along with booster reels, SCBA, dry chemical extinquishers and misc. hardware.

Our tanker was built by our members using parts donated by local corporations and individuals. The cab and chassis came from BASF, the tank from Ohio Gear, tires from Michelen, various parts from Newton Saw Mill and a lot of elbow grease was applied to produce the largest operational tanker that Pickens County had for about 10 years. The tanker is assigned as "Engine 2". The tanker was retired in the summer of 2003.

A delivery van was converted to carry our extra equipment. including turnout gear, SCBAs, saws, salvage & overhaul equipment and serves as "Service Company Truck 3".

We received a Dodge 4-WD pickup truck through a Forestry loan program that we converted to a brush truck by installing a skid tank with a Waterous pump. It has a 1-1/2" attack line and several booster reels of different sizes. The brush truck also carries various hand fire tools and indian packs. This brush truck is "Service Truck 4"


In October 1999, the town of Norris ordered a new Pierce truck which arrived June 2000.