Ehrhardt fireman will be honored; pharmacist died serving community

An Ehrhardt fireman will be remembered today for his death in the line of duty more than 60 years ago with a ceremony at the S.C. Fire Academy.

The S.C. State Association of Fire Chiefs, along with other members of the state’s fire service, will honor four firefighters who died while serving their communities.

The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 12, at the S.C. Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the grounds of the S.C. Fire Academy at 141 Monticello Trail in Columbia.

Among the fallen firefighters is Dr. James Wesley Sease of the Ehrhardt Fire Department.

Sease, who was also a pharmacist and World War II veteran, died March 26, 1956 at the age of 34.

He died 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.

Bamberg County Fire Service Coordinator Paul Eubanks said he plans to attend the ceremony.

“From what I understand, his wife passed away some time later, and then his only child, a son, died when he was something like 35 or so and never had any children. That was kind of all the family right there. It’s kind of sad,” Eubanks said.

He said it’s important for him to attend the ceremony because Sease’s death is worthy of remembrance and recognition.

“This is considered a line of duty death, and back then they didn’t have a firefighter’s memorial in Columbia, they didn’t have a memorial wall and all that. I’m not even sure when all of that started, but none of that was in place. It’s kind of sad to say that it’s almost as though he was kind of forgotten because I had never heard anything about him,” Eubanks said.

Sease’s death is the only line of duty death that Eubanks is aware of in Bamberg County.

“I’ve been with the fire service 36 years in the county, originally with Denmark, but I’ve been the fire coordinator about seven years now. I had never heard this story about him before. I just feel like it’s something that the county needs to have, some kind of place in his recognition. I felt like he’s got that due,” he said.

The other firemen who will be recognized at the ceremony include: Joseph Kenneth “Ken” Barr of the Anderson County Fire Department, Powderville Station 7; Lt. Gary Lynn Burris II of the Gaffney Fire Department and Chief John Revere Hodge of the Inman Community Fire Department.

Sease, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Willie Sease of Ehrhardt, was president of the Ehrhardt Lions Club, senior warden in Union Masonic Lodge and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

He was a graduate of Ehrhardt High School and the S.C. Medical College School of Pharmacist.

He was married to the late Mildred Knight Sease, and they were the parents of one son, James.

Eubanks said he appreciates the service of all firefighters, including those who have died in the line of duty.

“Oh my goodness, Bamberg County has got some phenomenal firefighters. Every single firefighter in this county is a volunteer. All of the fire chiefs except one are volunteers. They carry the responsibility of being a chief or a firefighter, and to do it as a volunteer and step up, too, that is pretty amazing in itself,” he said.

“Then the dedication that goes with it. We’ve got firefighters that respond to dozens and some even hundreds of calls a year. It’s certainly saving the taxpayers a lot of money, but it’s also serving the community and the people in need. I don’t know what we would do without them.”