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<p>Surrounded by family, friends, and fellow firefighters, three of the Burton Fire District’s newest members celebrated their graduation from the South Carolina Fire Academy on Friday, March 1, and started their local training back at the Burton Fire District this week.</p>
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<p>Cody Clevinger, Tyler Nix, and Scott O’Neal, became the Burton Fire District’s newest firefighters after graduating from the South Carolina Fire Academy’s eight-week recruit school. All three graduated with nationally recognized certifications in both the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress and the National Board on Professional Fire Service Qualifications. &nbsp;</p>
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<p>Firefighters Clevinger, Nix, and O’Neal will be starting their probationary period this week back at the Burton Fire District, where they will adapt and apply what they learned at the academy to the real world and begin their training to become Emergency Medical Technicians. &nbsp;</p>
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<p>“They all did very well at the academy and are welcome additions to our family,” Burton Fire Chief Harry Rountree said. “They have quite a bit of training still. They learned the basics, but the situations we find ourselves in are increasingly challenging and complex, so our veteran firefighters need to add the real-world lessons of our job to the classroom lessons they learned.” &nbsp;</p>
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<p>The Burton Fire District maintains an ISO-2 rating with a roster of 48 firefighters operating out of five fire stations and protects approximately 80 square miles of northern Beaufort County. In addition to fire and rescue services, the Burton Fire District also provides basic and advanced life support medical response and community risk reduction services. In 2018 the Burton Fire District responded to 3,139 emergency calls. </p>
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<p><em>Photo above: Burton Deputy Fire Chief Tom Webb, Firefighters Cody Clevinger, Tyler Nix, Scott OíNeal, and Fire Chief Harry Rountree, pose at the South Carolina Fire Academyís Fallen Firefighter Memorial after graduation and after receiving their new Burton fire helmets. Photo provided.</em><br></p>
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