

All fire departments in Pickens County were recently equipped with decon buckets to decontaminate personnel on scene after each fire to reduce exposure to harmful materials that they encounter during fire suppression.
This was made possible through a cooperative effort by the Firefighter Cancer Coalition, State Fire and South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association.
The Cancer Coalition in partnership with State Fire filled 500 decon buckets to give to fire departments across South Carolina.


“This has been a long time coming,” said Tracy Williams, chair of the Health & Safety Committee and member of the Cancer Coalition. “We knew we had funds through grants and once we determined we wanted to do decon buckets, it was a matter of COVID hitting and the supply chain slowing the process,” he continued, “But through the help of our coalition partners, we were able to secure, store, and stuff those items.”
Included in the buckets: decontamination wipes, brush, trash bags, tape, dish soap, spray bottle, reducer, hose, spray nozzle, Y adapter, and a flyer with a QR code that leads to information on decontamination and cancer reduction information.

