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Longtime S.C. fire chief dies of cancer, is remembered for his kindness, work ethic

Glenn Poole served with the Hollow Creek and Savannah River Site departments

Podge.jpg

Photo/Hollow Creek Fire Department

Bill Bengtson
Aiken Standard

SALLEY, S.C. — One of Aiken County’s most prominent firefighters is being remembered this week as “a kind-hearted guy that would help anybody” and as “a true brother.”

Glenn Poole, 70, was largely known for his years as chief of the Hollow Creek Fire Department, serving the area where Aiken, Lexington and Orangeburg counties meet, and also for his decades with the Savannah River Site Fire Department. The lifelong Aiken County resident, known to many as “Podge,” died of cancer Saturday.

“He’d help anybody,” said fellow firefighter Paul Salley, a 36-year veteran of Salley Town Council. “He helped me a lot when I started farming, with my chicken houses, and of course, I knew Glenn before that, and he was just a kind-hearted guy that would help anybody.”

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“I fought a lot of fires with Glenn,” Salley said, recalling that the late chief was “very community-oriented” and instrumental in setting up the Hollow Creek Fire Department, in the early 1980s.

Dennis Jackson, chief of the New Holland Fire Department, said, “From the fire department side, he was what we call a true brother. You could always depend on him. If you needed something ... if you’d call Glenn, Glenn was coming. On the fire scene, you knew he had your back. If something went south, Glenn was coming to get you.”

Wagener resident Kathy Rawls, a longtime Aiken County Council member, pointed out that Poole’s department received a new pumper truck this month, with revenue from the county sales tax. She was not sure if he ever had the chance to see it, due to his health situation. Much of his support, she noted, came via Christine Poole, his wife of the past 40 years, listed in the obituary with dozens of other family members and “many friends.”

“He had a farm. He seemed to work day and night sometimes, but he was always willing to go and help anyone else who needed help, in addition to all the time that he devoted to the fire department and the training,” Rawls said, noting that Poole’s contributions helped lead to him being inducted into the Order of the Palmetto.

“I mean, he never seemed to tire, and he was very supportive of the church,” she said, referring to his lifelong association with Clinton United Methodist. “His faith was very important and ... in the community, he would just volunteer and help anywhere, and he really did a lot for that fire department, to grow it and build it up, and he was always doing things to support it.”

Rep. Bill Taylor, R- Aiken, was part of the effort to salute Poole via the Order of the Palmetto. The legislator wrote, " Glenn Poole was an exemplary community servant and leader. He was more than a fire chief; I often referred to him as ‘The Mayor’ of the Hollow Creek area. To say that Glenn was ‘one of a kind’ would be an understatement. His hard work and perseverance showed Glenn’s passion for helping those in his community through not only his Godly nature, but also to his indelible character.”

David Watson, chief of the Wagener Fire Department, expressed appreciation for Poole’s help via the Volunteer Strategic Assistance and Fire Equipment (V-SAFE) grant program, through which “a lot of the local departments” have received such tools as bunker gear, extrication tools and thermal-imaging cameras. The state grants are distributed every three years and have boosted such agencies as Salley, Wagener, New Holland and New Ellenton.

Mike Miller, Wagener’s mayor, recalled growing up a couple of years behind Poole, as both were students at Wagener High School (not yet consolidated to form Wagener-Salley High). Poole “was just a good guy,” in the mayor’s assessment.

“I can never recall any controversy with him, not even in high school, as kids, or growing up,” Miller said. “He’s certainly put his all in that department.”

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(c)2022 the Aiken Standard

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