By Betsy Finklea
The Dillon County Station 9 (Oak Grove) Fire Department held their annual Christmas gathering and awards recently.
The department currently has 13 members.  Ten members have achieved their Firefighter 2 certification, two have earned their Firefighter 1 certification, and another has completed 11S2.
It was noted that Oak Grove had become a training center for the area due to their burn building.
During the past year, Oak Grove has responded to 297 calls – 100 fire calls and 197 rescue calls.
Chief Larry Cox noted that thanks to Councilman Buzzy Finklea and the Dillon County Council, they now have a three station response to structure calls which increases the number of firefighters that show up at these calls especially during the day when many are at work.
It was noted that the department also offers CPR and First Aid training to interested groups.
Several awards were presented.  Receiving awards were:
Chief’s Awards–Nick Rogers, Josh Caulder (who also received his one-year pin)
Firefighter of the Yea –Larry Lane
First Responder of the Year-Chip Rogers
Friend of the Fire Department–Taylor Jackson