A place that suffered from destructive fire, but was reborn, now has a new name, reflective of a young man who started his career of service there.
Laurens County Fire Service on Saturday dedicated the Ekom Fire Station in honor of Michael “Mike Mike” Vinson, who lost his life in the line of duty on Easter, 2024, responding to a fire call in Clinton. He was 27-years-old.
It was a morning to honor “the call you have placed on all of us; but for specific men and women, you placed a call upon to serve us whenever we are in a time of need,” said Police and Fire Chaplain Kenny Moore. “They’re always there. Thank you for Mike Mike Vinson. You placed that call upon him at this very place right here that he may serve, that he might serve you, and serve others. We thank you for the legacy that he left behind for us. We make this a dedication, a remembrance, that you’re going to help us to continue to help one another, to answer our call whatever that call may be on our life, that we may answer it, Lord. We are going to ask that your hand is going to rest right here. This is your place that your people are going to serve.”
Fire Service Director Greg Lindley said the Ekom Station was built in 2014 after one built here in the 1970s and 80s burned down. He is asking past members of Ekom Fire Department to look for and donate any pictures of the station, its firefighters and equipment, so these can be reproduced and hung on the fire truck bay walls “to remember the past and how this station got started.”
Vinson started as an Explorer at Ekom at age 15; and at 18, he became a firefighter here and led the Explorers post. He became a full-time firefighter with the Laurens County Fire Service and a part-time firefighter for the Clinton Fire Department.
“March 31, 2024,” Lindley said, “changed everything. I wanted to do something that would remember Mike Mike. There was a lot of work to make this happen. This is a beautiful sign, so that people can ride by and remember him.”
“I think about the (Vinson) family. I’ve had the privilege get to know some of the family over the years,” said State Representative Luke Rankin. “Our prayer are continually with you. This is the most important thing we can do. The community was very attached to Mike Mike and we are never going to forget him.”
County Council Member Arthur Lee Philson Jr. said when the Fire Service came to the council with the idea of naming the station in Vinson’s honor, members gave quick approval. “This is a good occasion,” he said. “We are sorry for your loss. We will always remember him in our hearts.”
Lindley gave special recognition to the South Carolina Firefighters Association who, he said, took the burden off the Laurens County Fire Service and the City of Clinton in planning and executive a full-honors funeral service for Vinson. The City of Clinton designed Fire Engine 88 in Vinson's honor. Also, he presented a leather firefighter’s helmet to Josh Simmons for his work in reaching out to past and present Ekom Station members about the sign and the dedication (the station is 18 miles west of Clinton on Neely Ferry Road; parking for this event was handled at the nearby Sawmill Training Center).
As firefighters unveiled the sign, which future plans call for being lighted, Lindley said, “This is our new sign, and this is the Michael “Mike Mike” Vinson Fire Station.”
