State Chiefs to honor S.C. fallen firefighters

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)– The S.C. State Association of Fire Chiefs will honor three firefighters on April 12 who died while serving. A firefighter who died in 1956 will also be remembered.

The 11 a.m. ceremony will be held at the S.C. Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the S.C. Fire Academy, 141 Monticello Trail in Columbia.

The line of duty deaths are:

Firefighter Joseph Kenneth “Ken” Barr, Anderson County Fire Department, Powdersville Station 7

Firefighter Ken Barr, 83, died in the line of duty Dec. 25, 2020. He was with the Powdersville Fire Department for 56 years beginning in 1964 as a charter member and was selected in 2012 as the Anderson County Firefighter of the Year.

Lieutenant Gary Lynn Burris, II, City of Gaffney Fire Department

Lt. Burris, 50, died in the line of duty Aug. 31, 2021. A member of the Gaffney City Fire Department with nearly 19 years of service, he was also a former chief and life member with the Grover Rural Volunteer Fire Department in North Carolina, and a fire instructor at Cleveland Community College.

Chief John Revere Hodge, Inman Community Fire Department

Chief Hodge, 57, died in the line of duty Oct. 1, 2021. He was the chief of the Inman Community Fire Department for two years. He joined the department when it first opened in 1980, when he was 17 years old, and served for 40 years. He also served part time with North Spartanburg Fire District and City of Inman Fire Department.

Dr. James Wesley Sease, Ehrhardt Fire Department

Dr. Sease, 34, died March 26, 1956, in the line of duty shortly after driving a fire truck to the scene of a fire. Upon arrival, he collapsed to the ground and died. He was also a pharmacist and World War II veteran.