He’s spent years as a volunteer firefighter. Now vote for ‘Big D.’

Few volunteer firefighters are in for the long haul.

The position is a way to test fitness for the job or to gain experience toward a paid position. Not many stick around as long as Derrick Washington.

Washington joined Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department as a reserve on Sept. 1, 2001. He has remained in his role since, often doubling the required quota of 24 hours a month in the station and undergoing training beyond the weekly requirement.

His colleagues want to recognize him via an online poll recognizing standout volunteers. They have been pushing the cause on social media since the beginning of June.

“He has been the single most reliable operational volunteer we’ve had during my time at the department,” said Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Chief Reece Bertholf, who joined the department a month before Washington. “His nomination is just a small piece of us trying to say thank you to him.”

If successful, the department would earn a new batch of smoke detectors and Washington would receive a trip to a firefighting conference in Nashville in October.

Washington has logged more than 1,000 training hours, earning 30 certificates for his continuing fire education. He has been recognized for his work in public education programs and has been named the department’s top volunteer nine times.

Washington wears the same pager as all the department’s members and receives alerts for all the calls. When he is not working his regular job as an operator, he is able to respond to calls.

And he has been in the thick of it.

Among his first calls was a fire at the Beaufort Inn. The second floor of a cottage was engulfed in flames.

“’Big D’ proved himself that night to be a great asset to our department,” former fire chief Sammy Negron said.

Washington devoted a bulk of his free time to the department and rode with others on calls, Negron recalled. He would often work a 24-hour shift, Negron said.

The role has always fit within Washington’s full-time job as a field operator with Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority. Washington has been in that role almost 20 years.

“Truly a hardworking man that throughout the years has given plenty of his personal time to serve and protect the citizens of Beaufort and Port Royal,” Negron said. “(He) Always can be depended upon to be there...regardless of the time of the day or night.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 3:29 PM with the headline "He’s spent years as a volunteer firefighter. Now vote for ‘Big D.’."