Fire service leaders from New York City shared first-hand accounts of the September 11 attacks during opening ceremonies for the 106th South Carolina Firefighters Convention.
Hundreds of firefighters from departments all over South Carolina filled the Myrtle Beach Convention Center's Grand Ballroom Thursday. They listened to a New York City fire chief stress the importance of proper training and equipment in the field.
"You've got to do the training and you've got to hear the message from other people because if you're not here, hearing the message, then you cant pass it on to others," Spartanburg firefighter Charlie Shill said.
The Charleston Southern University Players will deliver a message of leadership when they perform 'The Guy's', a play by Anne Nelson. It tells the story of a New York City fire captain, post-9/11, who turns to an editor for help in eulogizing the eight firefighters he lost.
"You think about all the funerals they had to go to, but you didn't think about how many funerals they had to go to in a day. We saw everything on TV but you don't think about what they went through," Shill added.
For the past ten decades, firefighters from all over the Palmetto State like Shill, have looked to the South Carolina Firefighter's Convention for brotherhood and training, as well as the latest in firefighting equipment. "Equipment is a big deal," Shill said. The Convention Center's Exhibit halls are filled with ambulances, engines, and the newest fire service equipment and apparatus offered by 140 vendors from around the southeast.
The Firefighter Combat Challenge and the South Carolina Firefighter Explorer Challenge will be held this weekend at Broadway at the Beach.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in honor of South Carolina's 2011 Fallen Firefighters.
