Colleton County Fire-Rescue

10/23/2024

	23/October/2024 - Graham Retirement Colleton County Fire-Rescue's longest serving volunteer firefighter, John Graham of Station # 7 in Smoaks, has retired. Family and department members held a dinner in his honor Wednesday evening 23-October in Smoaks. Captain Graham has served continuously for 51 years. He was one of the founding members of the Town of Smoaks Volunteer Fire Department which was organized in 1972, when many rural areas were establishing fire departments to protect their communities. Smoaks was the seventh fire department organized in rural Colleton County and became District 7. Graham served as the Fire Chief for 30 years until the Town Department became part of the County Fire-Rescue system. He then continued to lead Station # 7, serving as the Station Captain until his retirement this month. Graham has impacted many lives during his 51 years of service. He seldom missed a response and would drop whatever he was doing on his farm to serve those in need during their emergencies. In the early days, he and the volunteers at Smoaks, spent a great deal of time performing maintenance on their trucks and equipment to keep them in a state of readiness. Departments back then had little government support and overcame many hurdles to provide services. At 86, Graham has maintained his participation and provided a teaching role at many County Training events. His leadership and commitment has been an inspiration to many and we thank him for his five decades of service.

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