Beaufort names Clay Scoggins new deputy fire chief
Beaufort names Clay Scoggins new deputy fire chief
Longtime Beaufort firefighter Lt. Clay Scoggins is the city’s new deputy fire chief effective Saturday, April 10, Fire Chief Sammy Negron and City Manager Scott Dadson announced.
Scoggins is a 17-year-veteran of the Beaufort City Fire Department. He has served as a line firefighter, shift supervisor, training officer and, most recently, as the department’s interim operations officer.
The selection process included an employee evaluation (25%), chief’s evaluation (25%), and an interview board (50%). “The process was extremely competitive between four highly qualified individuals,” Chief Negron said.
“Deputy Chief Scoggins is a well recognized and respected South Carolina Fire Academy instructor and is a true example of dedication and excellence to all of our firefighters in the City of Beaufort, Town of Port Royal and Beaufort County,” Negron said.
Scoggins was instrumental in developing the firefighter survival program “Surviving the Mayday” that has been presented the past five years by the S.C. Fire Academy.
“I started my career with the City of Beaufort Fire Department almost 17 years ago and it has been a pleasure working for such a great organization,” Scoggins said. “We have an outstanding team of firefighters and fire officers. It is a thrill, an honor, and a privilege to accept this position. I look forward to helping the department, the City of Beaufort, and the Town of Port Royal achieve even greater success in the months and years to come.”
Last month, Dadson made Negron the city’s permanent fire chief, ending a year where Negron served as interim fire chief following the retirement of Wendell Wilburn.
Scoggins is a 1993 graduate of Beaufort High School. In 2004, he earned the Congressional Fire Service Institute award for Outstanding Service for saving the lives of two distressed kayakers. In 2001 and 2003 Scoggins was named Firefighter of the Year in Beaufort, and in 1998 he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the South Carolina governor for assisting with massive Florida forest fires.
He holds numerous certifications and accreditations in various fields of firefighting, including rescuing the rescuer, rapid intervention, auto extrication, structural collapse and incident command.
The naming of Negron as Beaufort’s permanent fire chief, and today’s announcement of Scoggins for the deputy’s post, follows a year-long study of the city police and fire departments by the International City/County Management Association. Their review helped guide restructuring of those departments, Dadson said.
The ICMA findings for the fire department included commendations for exceptional fire prevention and training efforts that limited fire loss, injuries and deaths.
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