Consultants urge West Columbia to plan for second fire station, training space as EMS demand grows

Joseph Pazu, a consultant with the Center for Public Safety Management, told the City of West Columbia council that the city's fire department is functioning "within capacity" but will need planning and investment as population growth increases EMS demand.

The assessment, nearly 200 pages, found that West Columbia currently staffs a single career station with a minimum of eight personnel on duty daily and benefits from automatic and mutual aid arrangements with Lexington County and neighboring jurisdictions that help the city maintain an Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification 1 rating. "You have 8 people on duty every day as sort of a minimum," Pazu said, noting the department typically assigns three on the engine, four on the ladder and one shift commander.

Why it matters: the report lays out specific operational and capital recommendations tied to rising call volumes, demographic risk factors (including a sizable 65-and-over population and social determinants of health), and the changing development pattern toward denser, multi-story housing that presents different firefighting challenges.

Key findings and recommendations

- Staffing and deploymen…