Before their family and friends, each new firefighter received their badge from Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins.

Several awards were also handed out during the graduation. Recruit Cody Patton was honored with the Maltese Cross Award while Recruit Jack Brutzer received the Bryan P. Roberts Academic Achievement Award.

(From left) Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins presents the Maltese Cross Award to Recruit Cody Patton & the Bryan P. Roberts Award to Jack Brutzer)

The Columbia-Richland Fire Department extends its congratulations to our new full-time firefighters.

RECRUIT CLASS 2026-01

Bennett Baxley

Jack Brutzer

Sean Farmer

Rafael Gaines

Adrian Gonzalez

Samuel Hernandez

Carson Howard

Ian Husley

David Kempner

Enrique McMillan

Damiya McMillian

Hugo Michaud

Lukas Nelson

Alexander O’Donnell

Cody Patton

David Ruiz

Chase Strickland

Shy’heem Watkins

The post CRFD Adds 18 New Firefighters Following Spring Graduation Ceremony appeared first on Columbia Fire Department.

Thirty-eight awards were presented during the event at C.A. Johnson High School. A majority of honors went to firefighters who went above and beyond the call of duty to save civilian lives over the course of 2025.

“It is my great pleasure to preside over this ceremony each year,” said Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins, “Our members truly put their passions and dedication into their work each day to make a difference for the citizens we protect. These awards are a simple way that we can say ‘thank you’ to them for their diligence, persistence and sacrifice.”

All award honorees for the ceremony were nominated by members of the Columbia-Richland Fire Department. The CRFD Awards Committee, which is made up of our personnel, carried out the task of reviewing nominations at the end of 2025 and ultimately selecting which members would receive awards.

Our department is honored to congratulate the following award winners:

Chief’s Cross

This award is reserved for the fire chief of the department to recognize a member or some citizen for some outstanding achievement – within or outside the fire department – that causes a positive or dramatic change in the Columbia-Richland Fire Department.

Senior Firefighter Andrew Morris

Green Cross

This award is given in recognition of a member who has made critical judgements and actions in performing life-preserving or life-resuscitative efforts for severely injured or ill patients.

Senior Firefighter Marcin Chrzanowski             Senior Firefighter Omar Flores Gill

 Senior Firefighter Caleb Jacobs                          Senior Firefighter Daniel Johnson

Senior Firefighter Andrew Morris                        Engineer Connor Brown

Engineer John Mabie                                                  Fire Captain Bobby Philips 

Fire Captain Anthony Rembisz                             Fire Captain Chad Solomon

(not pictured: Firefighter Clayton Alnor, Firefighter Darrin Diaz, Firefighter Justin Farr, Firefighter Michael Louis, Senior Firefighter Fredrick Reyes, Senior Firefighter William Young, Engineer Justin Epps, Engineer Gustavo Gonzalez, Engineer Matthew Ives, Engineer Logan Taber,  Fire Captain Charles Baxter, Fire Captain Weston Jumper, Fire Captain Thomas Nichols Fire Captain Kenneth Warr)

Formal Company/Division Citation

This award is presented to recognize a company or division that overcame adverse conditions as a team to uphold the Columbia-Richland Fire Department’s mission. 

• For the events of Wednesday March 12, 2025 during a motor vehicle accident with patient entrapment on I-126:

Rescue Co. 1 

Fire Capt. Christopher Byrd

Engineer Campbell Jacobs

S. Firefighter Ryan Espling

S. Firefighter Zachary Finch

Ladder Co. 7 

Fire Capt. Blake Cartee

Engineer Richard Shell

S. Firefighter Cameron Ingram

Firefighter Taylor Crews

Engine Co. 1

Fire Capt. Nicholas Branham

Engineer Nicholas Finley

S. Firefighter Desiree Colon

Firefighter Cameron Jones

Engine Co. 6 

Fire Capt. Davis Taylor

Engineer Sean Stephens

S. Firefighter Alexander Papalazarou

Firefighter Jackson Rish (not pictured)

Phoenix Award

This award is given to recognize an employee’s efforts in saving or freeing endangered firefighters or victims during a fire, vehicle entrapment, technical rescue, hazardous material (HAZMAT) incident or any other rescue situation.

Firefighter Andrew H. Morris                                    Senior Firefighter Ryan Espling

Senior Firefighter Caleb Jacobs                              Senior Firefighter Robert McConnell

Engineer Connor Brown                                             Engineer Campbell Jacobs

Engineer John Stulpin Jr.                                             Fire Captain Bobby Philips

Fire Captain Davis Taylor

The post Heroes Shine at CRFD’s Annual Department Awards Ceremony appeared first on Columbia Fire Department.

This is a new record set by CRFD’s annual ‘Firefighters Feeding Families Holiday Food Drive’, which is now in its sixth year. Dozens of vehicles passed through fire department headquarters in Columbia on Monday December 22, 2025 to collect free supplies of groceries, produce and meats.

“Each year our goal with this campaign has been to make sure that no family in our area goes without food for the holidays,” said Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins, “Our new milestone in giving this year has been made possible thanks to the incredible support of our city and county leaders as well as area churches and businesses. The help of the community is truly what gets our fire station full of food each Christmas so we can help our area families who are most vulnerable. We are incredibly grateful to serve a community full of people who care.”

Donation Pick-Up Day for ‘Firefighters Feeding Families 2025’ – Monday December 22, 2025

Members of the Columbia City Council and Richland County Council were both on hand December 22 to help distribute grocery bags to citizens who requested food assistance. At times the line outside of CRFD headquarters on Laurel Street extended for several city blocks.

CRFD would like to thank our many community sponsors for making this year’s ‘Firefighters Feeding Families’ Holiday Food Drive a great success.

This includes members of the Richland County Council and the Columbia City Council who contributed thousands of dollars towards the purchase of meats, canned goods and non-perishable food items.

Area businesses and organizations also played a huge role in the success of this year’s campaign. Among them were Adluh Flour, Limitless Community Development, Walmart on Forest Drive and Garners Ferry Road, Sam’s Club on Forest Drive as well as Food Lion in Cayce.

The post ‘Firefighters Feeding Families’ Aids More Than 600 Households for 2025 Campaign appeared first on Columbia Fire Department.

The department has begun taking donations for its sixth annual ‘Firefighters Feeding Families Holiday Food Drive.’ From now through Friday December 19, 2025 area citizens can drop off canned goods and non-perishable food items at our many stations across the City of Columbia and Richland County. December 19 will be our final community collection day before food taken in will be distributed.

“I can tell you that by the time this campaign is over all of the donated food we collect will find homes that need it,” said Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins, ”The incredible need we see from our communities continues to grow and grow each year we do this food drive. During the holidays last year we were able to feed 500 area households for the second year in a row. That’s why we are once asking our area citizens and businesses to be as generous as possible and give what they can.”

Images from the 2024 ‘Firefighters Feeding Families’ Holiday Food Drive

All donations for this year’s drive can be dropped off at the fire museum at CRFD Headquarters, which is located at 1800 Laurel Street in Columbia OR any Columbia-Richland fire station across Richland County between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

A full list of our stations and their locations can be found on our website at www.colafire.net under the ‘Stations’ tab. Donors are encouraged to leave their items with a member of our staff to ensure they have been taken in.

Examples of non-perishable items that can be dropped off for the drive include:

• Canned meats and tuna
• Canned potatoes, vegetables and fruits
• Pasta and rice products
• Canned pasta
• Canned soups and stews
• Cereals
• Canned and dry beans
• Pasta sauces
• Nuts and dried fruits

ALL FOOD DONATED MUST NOT BE PAST EXPIRATION. CITZENS ARE ENCORUAGED TO CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATES ON ITEMS BEFORE DROPPING THEM OFF. 

All collected items will go directly to support area families in needs. Citizens needing food assistance can call the department Monday through Friday during regular business hours (8 a.m. until 5 p.m.) at 803-545-3700. Messages can be left at that number.

The post Collection Period Kicks Off for 6th Annual ‘Firefighters Feeding Families’ Holiday Food Drive appeared first on Columbia Fire Department.

Inclement weather resulted in this year’s walk having to be cancelled on September 27. In light of that, event organizers at the James. R. Clark Memorial Sickle Cell Foundation opted to hold an awards program on October 21 to recognize Chief Jenkins and others in our community for their work bringing awareness to sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell is a genetic blood disorder that causes red blood cells in patients to develop in a ‘crescent’ or ‘sickle’ shape. This causes lifelong health issues that can include extreme pain, organ damage and other complications.

The post Fire Chief Named Ambassador for the 2025 Columbia Sickle Cell Walk appeared first on Columbia Fire Department.

The Columbia-Richland Fire Department hosts the parade each fall to promote fire safety and education in communities across Richland County. This year’s parade took participants down stretches of Barhamville Road, Waverly Street and Elmwood Avenue in Columbia. It passed by three area schools before concluding at Drew Wellness Center where a post-parade community block party was held.

CRFD was honored to have the Lexington County Fire Service, the Columbia Police Department, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and other area agencies take part in this year’s parade as well as Eau Claire High School’s cheerleading squad.

The post CRFD Kicks Off 2025 Fire Prevention Month with Annual Parade appeared first on Columbia Fire Department.

The department and Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins hosted a special luncheon for retired members at CRFD Headquarters on Laurel Street. More than 90 retirees took part to reconnect with their colleagues and also socialize with currently serving members of the department.

You can view all the photos from the event by clicking here.

The post CRFD Honors Retirees With Special Luncheon appeared first on Columbia Fire Department.

They were joined by officials with South Carolina State Fire as well as volunteers from the American Red Cross of South Carolina.

By the time the blitz was over in the early afternoon more than 200 free alarms were installed for area homeowners.

The post CRFD Hits Hollywood Hills for Smoke Alarm Blitz appeared first on Columbia Fire Department.