EASLEY — Applications came from as far away as Oklahoma, but the Crosswell Fire Board had to look no further than its own backyard to find its first fire chief.

Scott Smith, a native of Easley with nearly 20 years of firefighting experience, has accepted the position of fire chief for the district. Smith is currently a firefighter for the Vineyards Fire Department in Pickens County and also serves as a regional supervisor with the South Carolina Fire Academy’s regional office in Greenville.

“We are extremely pleased to have someone with Scott’s credentials who will be our first chief,” said Jeff Lee, chairman of the fire board. “We have put a lot of hard work into getting this station operational and Scott will help us complete this project. He will bring a wealth of knowledge to the position, and that was key to the board in its search for this position.”

The Crosswell Fire District began a process several years ago to build a station in the district, which covers approximately 22 square miles between Easley and Greenville County. The district currently contracts with the city of Easley to provide fire protection.

While Smith will serve as the district’s chief, the district will still work under Easley while it hires firefighters and moves to sustain itself as a separate district in a few years. Because of its relationship with the city, most of the district currently enjoys a low ISO rating and hopes to maintain that rating during the transition.

“With 20 years in fire service, I’ve always had a desire to be a chief, to lead a department, and this opportunity presented itself,” Smith said. “It’s really a rare opportunity to build something from the ground up in fire service.”

Smith knows the challenge won’t be easy, though.

“Of course the obstacles that are entailed with basically starting with nothing will be there,” he said. “We’ll have to work with building personnel, getting equipment and operating within a specified budget.”

The district has built a fire station at the intersection of Saluda Dam Road and Kay Drive that is centrally located in the district. A pumper truck has been purchased and was put into service by the city in the spring.

Because of his past association with the Easley Fire Department, Smith feels that will help the transition of opening a new station. Also a help will be his association through the state fire academy.

“I have built numerous affiliations across the state and the area that will aid in building the department,” Smith said. “I am very familiar with the operations of Easley because I put a lot of them in place while I was there. There is a rapport there even with the general firefighters. There is mutual respect there across the board and that is crucial.”

Smith, a graduate of Easley High School, began his public service career in 1984 with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department. In 1990 he became a firefighter for Easley. He was promoted to lieutenant with the department in 1993 and was named assistant chief in 1996. In that role, he supervised daily operations of Easley’s three fire stations, including 22 career and 20 volunteer personnel.

From 1997 until 2005, Smith served as a regional supervisor for the South Carolina Fire Academy’s regional office in Greenville. He increased training from 173 courses to 264 for firefighters in 12 Upstate counties. He was responsible for more than 130 academy and adjunct instructors and logged more than 2,500 hours of teaching time.

He returned to a station in 2005 as a firefighter for the Vineyards Fire Department in Pickens County. He remained with the fire academy on a part-time basis.

Smith helps supervise all training and refresher courses for the department, monitors fire and medical OSHA compliance and maintains several aspects of the station’s operations, including records, background checks and ISO compliance.

“I think the Crosswell board found Scott Smith to have the right combination of experience, leadership and vision,” said Crosswell board member Karl Earl. “The Crosswell Fire District has unique needs and it will take all of Scott’s skills to continue the contractual relationship with the Easley Fire Department, train new firefighters, purchase additional equipment, survey the district, and respond to incidents within the district. It’s quite a full plate. Once Scott hires some firefighters we can get the new fire truck parked in the fire station and be open for business. Now that’s a day all Crosswell has been looking forward to since 1981 when Alvin Duncan, our treasurer, helped form the district.”

Scott and his wife Kelli, have three daughters, Laura Ashleigh, 18, Allison, 14, and Abby 13.