After a brief ceremony and blessing, three members of the department stood in front of the shiny red vehicle and aimed fire hoses at it, then county officials and firefighters together pushed the $435,638 truck into its bay.Â
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Until last year, the Ladson Road station was home to the headquarters of Old Fort Fire Department. But in an effort to create countywide fire protection in the growing county, Dorchester County and the 46-year-old department merged.
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Dorchester County Fire-Rescue was formed in 2013 by the merger of several rural and volunteer departments throughout the county. Before that, there were 11 separate fire departments in the county.