As most Kershaw County schools opened their doors to students Monday, the Lugoff Fire Department (LFD) was there for the fourth year in a row with a fire truck at Wateree Elementary School (WES) early in the morning as students returned to class. LFD headquarters sent out its 77-foot ladder truck to WES as parents and buses brought students back to school on the nervous “first day.”

The LFD scheduled to have crews at Lugoff Elementary School for its delayed opening Thursday.

“It is always great to see kids, some who seemed to pretty anxious coming through the parking lot, pointing at the fire trucks and waving at us as they drove by,” LFD Chief Dennis Ray said in a press release. “Hopefully we helped ease some of the ‘butterflies’ from that infamous first day back from summer break. We will continue to be a common sight around the Lugoff community, including our schools, so our community members know we really care about their safety.”

The LFD displayed a “Welcome Back” banner on the ladder truck, and took time to share with parents and kids before they made their way into school. Some parents came by to thank the firefighters for helping ease the anxiousness of their children as they came back to school. Lugoff Ladder 10 is the truck adopted by WES and has the school logo on both sides to encourage student identification with the LFD’s fire prevention efforts each year. Lugoff Engine 10 has been adopted by the Lugoff Elementary School displaying that school’s logo.

Ray and members of the department already toured each of the five schools in the Lugoff community and completed pre-incident plans with emergency contact procedures. The LFD participates in numerous events during each school year with students. LFD firefighters wish all of the students, teachers, and school staff a safe and productive school year.