Bluffton Fire District breaks ground on Station 39, Krob joins board

The Bluffton Township Fire District marked two milestones in May, breaking ground on its 10th fire station and swearing in a new member of its Board of Commissioners. District officials gathered at 301 Sun City Blvd. in Okatie for the groundbreaking ceremony for Fire Station 39, a project designed to expand emergency response capacity in southern Beaufort County.

The new station will house a fire engine company staffed by district firefighters and a Beaufort County EMS ambulance, bringing fire and emergency medical services together at one location.

The $5.7 million project is being led by Beaufort County and funded through the county’s 2017 General Obligations Bond. Fraser Construction is serving as the builder.
Among those attending the ceremony were Deputy Chiefs Derek Church and Adam Corn, Fire Commission board members Natalie Majorkiewicz, Bill Rickett and Glenn Williams, and Beaufort County officials including County Administrator Michael Moore and Deputy County Administrator Nicole Wood.

County Council members Paula Brown, Logan Cunningham, Joe Passiment and Ana Maria Tabernik also attended, along with Beaufort County EMS Director Donna Ownby, Deputy Director Howell Youmans, Senior Crew Chief Kevin Peeples and Fraser Construction representative Jay Fraser.

The fire district currently operates nine stations and serves about 75,000 residents across 246 square miles of southern Beaufort County. Officials said Station 39 will increase coverage capacity within Sun City and the surrounding Lawton Station, Cypress Ridge and Hampton Lake communities. The district expects the station to improve response times in the western portion of its service area.

On May 19, the district’s Board of Commissioners swore in Rick Krob as the District 5 representative during its regular monthly meeting.

Krob was nominated and approved by Beaufort County Council during its April 20 meeting. Council members voted unanimously to appoint him to a four-year term that runs through April 2030.

Krob brings 38 years of fire service experience to the board. He retired from Burton Fire District in April 2017 as a lieutenant after more than 25 years of service. During his career there, he participated in technical rescue operations, urban search and rescue efforts, and firefighter training programs.

He also served on South Carolina Task Force 1, the state’s urban search and rescue team, including its first deployment to Hurricane Katrina.

Since 2019, Krob has served with the 165th Airlift Wing Fire and Emergency Services in Savannah, Georgia. According to the district, he was promoted to assistant chief of training in 2025.

Krob began his firefighting career as a volunteer with the City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department in 1989 and received Volunteer Firefighter Rookie of the Year honors that year.

In addition to his fire service work, he has owned and operated Palmetto Bush Hoggin, LLC since 2010. He is a graduate of the South Carolina Firefighters Association Leadership Institute and Leadership Beaufort and holds certifications as a Fire Instructor III, Fire Officer IV and Fire Inspector III.

Krob has lived in Beaufort County since 1986.