Former county fire chief working with state organization

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Retired Clarendon County Fire Chief Carter Jones has been named the special projects coordinator for the South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association.

 

A Manning native, Jones was chief of the Clarendon County Fire Department for 22 years, and continues to serve as a volunteer. More than three decades ago, he was the only paid firefighter working for the county.

 

The association announced the position on Monday, saying that Jones will gather and share association history, as well as general South Carolina fire service history. He will also assist with outreach programs.

 

Jones has an associate’s degree from North Greenville University, a bachelor of arts from Presbyterian College and a master’s degree from the University of Georgia. He began his firefighting career as a volunteer with the Manning Fire Department in 1966.

 

In addition to his roles in Manning and the county, he has also served as a counselor for troubled youth with the state Department of Vocational Rehabilitation; as a training specialist and deputy state fire marshal for the Office of State Fire Marshal; as emergency management program manager for Central Carolina Technical College; as a sales representative for Emergency Apparatus Company; and as a loss control director for the Bruner Agency of Summerton.

 

He has previously served the association as its president, and has also served with the S.C. State Fire Commission and as chairman of the Joint Council of Fire Service Associations. He was a member of the Fire Academy Advisory Committee during the construction of both fire academies.

 

With the Arson Task Force in the early 1980s, he helped spearhead a change in arson laws and continues to pursue the association’s legislative agenda with the General Assembly.

 

He has been named the state Firefighter of the Year, and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the association in 2010.

 

He is married to Mary Jo Jones – the county’s first female firefighter. The couple has two sons, Jonathan and Craig, both of whom have followed in his footsteps. Jonathan was elected president of the association in 2013. Carter and Jonathan are the first father-son duo to hold the presidency.