You don't have to be a Dalmatian to help

This dog raises money for fire departments

Dennis Walczuk was just like many Lowcountry residents after last year's deadly Sofa Super Store fire: He wanted to do something to express his gratitude to firefighters.

"Before the tragedy, I took the firemen for granted," he said. "I was very saddened by it."

When a local fire chief mentioned to Walczuk that many rural and volunteer fire departments often lack the money to buy equipment they need to perform their jobs, Walczuk had an inspiration.

A few months after the fire, Walczuk formed Equipping Our Heroes, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to buying life-saving equipment for needy departments.

Walczuk, 54, owns Exclusively Bimmers car repair shop in Mount Pleasant. One of the ways he's raising money for the group is by selling T-shirts at his shop. They feature a picture of Walczuk's American bull terrier with an American flag in the background and the slogan "Hoss for President."

To date, the foundation has raised about $12,500. The foundation's first project was the purchase of about $5,400 worth of radio equipment for the Andrews Fire Department in Georgetown County.

The department was so in need of upgrades it still relied on a World War II-era audible fire alarm to alert its firefighters to an emergency, Chief Robert H. Barrineau said. "We still use it sometimes if our pagers malfunction," he said.

The 27-member volunteer department had no way of communicating with other departments before the foundation donated two 800-megahertz radios. "We cover a five-mile radius, and when we got out five miles from the station, we couldn't communicate with some of our own personnel," he said.

Barrineau, who's been with the department for 50 years and, like most volunteer firefighters, works another job, said the nonprofit is providing a huge service. "As far as I know, all small towns have problems with firefighting equipment," he said. "There is a lot more required than there used to be, and it's very expensive."

Andrews Mayor Rodney Giles was so moved by the foundation's gesture, he recently visited Walczuk's shop to offer his personal thanks.

The foundation also has donated about $6,000 worth of radio equipment to the Pine Ridge Fire Department, which lost two of its volunteers in the June 18 sofa store fire.

Walczuk said he doesn't know which department he will help next, but his goal is to provide vital equipment to the neediest stations in the Charleston area. "My dream is to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment to help as many rural fire stations as I can," he said.

Reach Konstantin Vengerowsky at kvengerowsky@ postandcourier.com.

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