In 1986, the Hinton Volunteer Fire Department was officially chartered, had 17 members on the roll, enough to meet state requirements, and got its first firetruck.
Forty years later, as the department plans an anniversary open house at the station, located directly on Highway 53 in Hinton, Chief Jerry Edwards said, “As the saying goes, we’ve come a long ways.” Edwards spoke last week at a gathering of current and original department members planning the open house for September 12.
In 1986, when it was chartered, Hinton was responsible for almost one-third of the land in Pickens County, a lot of territory but not many houses at the time. Now the area has no shortage of high-dollar homes – places where fires were mostly a forestry issue when the department began.
With that growth, the department has expanded, and the county government now stations an ambulance with two-person med teams there (all personnel on the med teams are trained as both medics and firefighters). In recent years, between 1,000 and 1,200 calls, including EMS calls, have been handled from the Hinton station.
Asked what they had done for fire protection before the volunteer station, Edwards said, “You ever heard of a bucket brigade?” Jack Barnes, a founding member of the Hinton station, said they would call the Ga. Forestry Commission, who would show up and dig a ditch around whatever was burning.
In the mid-80s, the state, through Ga. Forestry, pushed to create volunteer departments. The forestry commission supplied fire equipment to volunteer departments that could provide their own trucks. The same year Hinton was chartered, volunteer departments at Bethany Salem, Talking Rock, Yellow Creek, and Grandview sprang into being. The city of Jasper had a fire department, and Tate already had a volunteer department.
Shortly after the first truck was put in service, the volunteers realized they needed a station because someone kept stealing gas from the truck when it was left parked under a streetlight near where the current station sits.
So, in 1987, the station added a one-bay fire station. They could also store the department’s six sets of turnout gear for everyone to use. Whoever got to the fires first got first choice of the turnout gear.
In 1994, they added a tanker, which was the largest in the county at the time. Department members built the 3,000-gallon tank at home and then assembled it. It was originally parked in a nearby chicken house as there wasn’t an available bay.
From the beginning to today, the Hinton community has a tradition of holding fundraising events to meet firefighting needs. Edwards said in addition to trucks over the years, the two fire stations were paid for through donations, without tax dollars. For the current larger station, which opened May 1, 2004, the county supplied one final load of gravel, but otherwise it was community funded.
Among other challenges for all fire stations of the 1980s-1990s was communication. The Hinton department used a call list where each person was assigned to call others. They later moved to pagers, which were supposed to give the fire’s address, but early members say they were unreliable, and they still had to call someone to find out where the fire was.
Despite all the challenges, the Hinton Volunteer Department was certifiably successful. They saw the area’s insurance rating drop from an original class 9 to class 6 in 1999, which Edwards points out was a really big deal. At the time, most of the big poultry operations were in west Pickens, so dropping the ISO from 9 to 6 saved thousands each year for the chicken farms. Hinton members take pride that they were also first in Pickens County to see their ISO drop to a 4 in 2013, where it remains today.
Before paid fire crews, Hinton and Tate were consistently the busiest volunteer departments, and each took pride in handling more calls each year.
Today, the Hinton Fire Department boasts three fire trucks (two county-provided), a rescue truck, and the county med unit, which is staffed around the clock.
Aside from emergency calls, the department was known for its yearly fundraisers, which included BBQ dinners, a massive cakewalk, and vehicle raffle drawings. However, these events, which raised funds to pay for trucks, turnout gear, and stations themselves, became so time-consuming they were discontinued around the time of COVID. Edwards said the last one they did took 40 volunteers and several weeks of prep. People in the community would get a call and knew they needed to start baking cakes.
While their 40th celebration won’t feature a cake walk, members of Hinton VFD are inviting everyone to an open house September 12 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The firefighters will show off the station and equipment, offer fire safety and other activities for kids.
Hinton Fire Chiefs – Rick Baxter, Jerry Barnes, Butch Brendel, Mary Peterson, Jerry Edwards. Peterson was the first female fire chief in the county. Fourteen members of the volunteer department have gone to professional careers in fire/emergency services.
Pictured (l-r): Scotty Jordan, Brian Costlow, Jerry Edwards, Kevin Crowe (original members), Jack Barnes and Larry Watson, Scott Turner, Kate Rehg, Carlos Yllescas, Mike Williams, Brian Padgett. Other Hinton members (not pictured): Jacob Edwards, Todd Redman, Tracy Weaver, Jordan Burton. Richie Hancock, not pictured, still serves as a support person.
