Brief History of the Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District
In 1969 a group of concerned citizens realizing the need for fire protection got together and formed the Lady’s Island-St. Helena Volunteer Fire Department.
In March of 1972 the Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire district was enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina (Act # 1727). The Fire District is governed by a five member Board of Fire Control (Commission). The Commissioners are appointed by the Governor. Terms of office shall be for four years, two of the members shall be residents of Lady’s Island, two members shall be residents from St. Helena Island and one member shall be appointed from the district at large.
The District provides fire service and levies taxes in the area generally encompassing Lady’s and St. Helena Island and those islands in the immediate vicinity. The District boundaries comprise approximately 140 square miles of Beaufort County, South Carolina. The boundaries of the District were confirmed by Beaufort County Council on March 11th 2013.
Over the last 44 years the Commissioners have been responsive to the needs, growth and development of the islands. The Commissioners have been strategic in their actions and extremely fiscally responsible. We have grown from and all Volunteer organization to an organization that today employs 65 personnel.