Hampton County public safety director addresses fire department concerns following chief’s administrative leave

HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - Hampton County Director of Public Safety John Lawson addressed community concerns surrounding the county’s fire department during a specially called county council meeting this week.

The meeting comes after concerns were raised during a May 18 county council meeting and following the announcement that Hampton County Fire Chief Chris Parker was placed on paid administrative leave.

During the meeting, Lawson responded to questions about Parker’s hiring process, saying the fire chief went through an extensive interview and vetting process before being hired.

“There was a very extensive, when I say extensive, very extensive interview process that included a panel of 5 people that included myself, 2 seated fire chiefs in neighboring counties, someone from the economic development board in the county and our previous deputy county administrator,” Lawson said.

Lawson also confirmed that the county is facing a shortage of firefighters, something community members previously raised during earlier meetings.

“We are trying to move the county fire service forward.... If we continue down the path that we are with the recruitment numbers how they are and the enable to put people where we need to put them to take care of a call. If we continue down this path, we are going to get to a point where in reality, we are close now to not having adequate fire coverage for a large portion in Hampton county.”

He added that no fire stations are closing.

While addressing the crowd, Lawson said that as Parker’s supervisor, he must ensure decisions made by the fire chief are brought directly to him first.

Following Lawson’s remarks, community members, firefighters and Scotia Mayor Jennifer Rushing stayed to ask additional one-on-one questions and discuss concerns about county fire services.

WTOC also spoke with Hampton County Council Chairman Roy Hollingsworth, who confirmed an investigation involving Parker is underway.

“We’re not making any judgement calls on anything, because when you don’t know, you don’t know,” Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth said county leaders are continuing to meet with community groups and firefighters to better understand their concerns and ensure the Hampton County Fire Department continues serving residents effectively.

County council members also announced plans to meet with elected officials from municipalities across Hampton County in June. Officials said the meeting will be open to the public and is expected to be held at the B.T. Deloach Building. If that location is unavailable, the meeting will move to the Clemson Extension Office.