Fort Jackson Fire Chief Eric Harper says the time firemen spend together makes up about half their lives.
This constant togetherness has turned the group of men that inhabit the fire department side of Fort Jackson's emergency services building into something more than just colleagues.
These men feel like brothers.
"We really feel like a family here," said Assistant Chief David Hartness. "We joke around with each other, we get mad at each other sometimes, but when the buzzer goes off we put everything to the side and perform our duty. These guys are really my brothers."
And the bond that these brothers have created among one another has allowed them to perform their job for the Fort Jackson community with excellence -- and their performance has not gone unnoticed.
Fort Jackson's Fire Department was recently the recipient of three Installation Management Command awards: Fire Department of the Year in the small category; Civilian Fire Officer of the Year; and Fire Inspector of the Year.
"We continue to strive for an excellent performance," Harper said. "There are a lot of great fire departments across garrisons and I don't want to take that away from them, but here at Fort Jackson we can say that the Soldiers are well protected and so we're going to continue to strive.
"This award just shows that we are on track with what the Department of the Army wants from us," he said.
Assistant Chief Scott Dallman was named Fire Officer of the Year, and Assistant Chief Peter Hanes was named Fire Inspector of the Year. Dallman has been at Fort Jackson since 2002 and Hanes since 1999.
"I know a lot of great officers through IMCOM and to be selected is pretty special and it says a lot about our department for winning as well," said Dallman.
He and Hanes both decided on careers in fire protection the same way. After joining the Air Force, they were both assigned this career path and stayed in it.
"It's a brotherhood, it's truly a family," said Hanes.
"That's honestly the best part about (working in the fire department). To be able to work with your brother and sister and provide a service to Soldiers, it's honoring."
And their brothers couldn't be happier for them.
"I've seen (them) go up the ranks," said firefighter Kenny Morgan. "To see them gain knowledge and experience and just becoming a better, well-rounded officer is awesome."
Although putting out fires is an important aspect of their job, Fort Jackson firemen have other duties to perform, as well. They hold inspections, provide training, and teach classes to make sure the community is well educated on safety issues.
"Our theory is that the Soldiers go down range to protect us when there's bad guys out there, so when their back here at home we take care of them and make sure they are safe here," said Hanes.
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