Orangeburg Department of Public Safety conducts fire training at SC State apartment complex

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – When it comes to emergencies, hands-on experience matters.

That’s why South Carolina State University invited the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety (DPS) to conduct fire suppression training on the campus this week. 

“It is all about student safety,” Ken Davis, associate vice president for facilities management, said, adding that SC State wants DPS at SC State for training often to get more familiar with the campus.

DPS began training at SC State’s Hugine Suites apartment complex on Monday, and the exercises were scheduled to continue through Wednesday.

The training will allow fire crews to better navigate the buildings in case of fire

DPS Battalion Chief and Fire Marshal Jonathan Winningham said the training’s purpose is to ensure that the firefighters are familiar with the buildings on campus. They were training on upper floors to prepare for fires farthest from the ground.

“We have a primary line and a secondary line,” Winningham said the how the crews were structured. “The secondary line is anticipation of the third-floor fire entering into the attic space.”

DPS also trained at SC State in 2023, using Sojourner Truth Hall, the university’s 14-story residence hall, which is undergoing a $15 million renovation project this year. DPS again looked at Truth recently.

“Eventually, they will look at all residential halls,” Davis said. “Chief (Winningham) and I had the opportunity to look at Truth Hall a good bit recently as this project is about to go underway.

“They will come out to do a lot of preplanning in all our buildings not just residential halls but academic buildings as well,” Davis said.

The training helps firefighters better locate campus buildings.

“Now they know where Hugine J is, and they know the closest entrance to Hugine J,” Davis said.