For the sixth consecutive year, the Tiger River Fire-Rescue Department has been recognized as a Fire Safe Community by Fire Safe South Carolina.
The Department first received the SC Fire Safe designation in 2020. The designation is given out each year by Fire Safe SC, a risk reduction program that recognizes departments prioritizing community outreach.
“For our department, this prestigious award shows our community that we are more than just firefighters who come out when they call 911,” said Tyger River Fire Marshal Steven Carpenter. “We are out in our community educating and preventing emergencies.”
In order to get the fire safe designation each year, there are five goals departments must strive to meet. Those are:
Educate department members on community risk reduction.
Identify the top three residential calls for service each year and pick out education needs in the community.
Have well-maintained incident reporting and data collection in NERIS (National Emergency Response Information System).
Utilize the power of partnerships to reduce risk in the community.
Promote fire and life safety education in the community.
To achieve these goals, Carpenter says members of the department took classes pertaining to fire prevention and risk reduction, on top of their regular duties. They also worked with multiple local businesses and organizations to organize educational events in the community.
“We are proud to be one of many departments that continue to be awarded this designation year after year,” Carpenter said. “As of this year, every department in Spartanburg County has received the fire safe designation for 2025, and they are all making plans to receive it again for 2026. This speaks volumes for [the county].”
For more information on the Tyger River Fire Department, visit their Facebook page.
