For longtime Isle of Palms Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Richard Hathaway, being a firefighter is in his family’s DNA – it was in his sights even before he started school. Now, after 36 years of serving “the greatest profession in the world,” Hathaway stepped down from the department recently.
On Sept. 24, IOP City Council bestowed him a Key to the City in recognition of his outstanding and exemplary service. The honor once symbolized the freedom of the recipient to enter and leave a guarded and walled medieval city at will. Today, it confers trust and honor – and is perhaps IOP’s rarest award.
“The proclamation was signed by all of our firefighters,” said IOP Fire Chief Craig Oliverius at the Sept. 24 presentation at City Hall. “It has been absolutely phenomenal and a pleasure to work with Chief ‘Hat’ as we call him.”
So far, during the combined tenure of current Mayor Phillip Pounds and former mayors Jimmy Carroll, Dick Cronin and Mike Sottile going back to 2001, there have been only three Key to the City recipients. Pounds added that his only regret in presenting Hathaway with the honor is not being able to keep him in the department, “which would be my preference.”
“He worked to make us safer and more efficient by bringing new ideas, implementing new programs and mentoring to the new hires,” Pounds said. “We have a ton of amazing personnel in our fire department, and Deputy Chief Hathaway is one of those amazing people.”
City council went one step further by approving a resolution to name the training room at the Public Safety Building in Hathaway’s honor “to ensure that future generations will remember his contributions to public safety,” Pounds said.
Hathaway’s road to providing those public safety contributions began at an uncle’s fire department in Wichita, Kansas, almost before his first conscious memory. “It was always great to visit his fire house,” recalled Hathaway. “I have a picture of myself at probably age 3 or 4, riding my big wheel with my plastic fire helmet on my head. All of my friends growing up also went into the fire service together. I can’t remember wanting to do anything but serve the community.”
At age 18, Hathaway joined the Wichita Fire Department Explorer Post 881 as a volunteer, then the Moncks Corner Rural Volunteer Fire Department upon moving to South Carolina. “My professional (paid) career started with the City of North Charleston Fire Department in August 1998,” he said. “I was fortunate to work with some of the best firefighters who taught me so much.”
When an opening became available with the IOPFD in 2001, Hathaway knew instinctively that this was where he wanted to be. “I had friends who had also left North Charleston to go to Isle of Palms who continually encouraged me to make the transition,” he said. “At the time, Isle of Palms paid more, and I really liked the environment.”
It didn’t take long for his extensive experience and training to get noticed. Within six months of his arrival, Hathaway was promoted to engineer, whose normal course of duties is to develop programs, processes and plans to limit or prevent fire damage.
After that, Hathaway just kept rising through the ranks – to lieutenant, captain, battalion chief, battalion chief of training and finally as a deputy fire chief. “All of this was possible because many people took the time to teach me and invest themselves in training me,” he said.
When asked why he is retiring now, at a moment when he is at the top of his profession, Hathaway said it was just the right time. “This has honestly been a difficult decision,” he said, adding that getting the Key to the City was “one of the greatest honors of my life.”
“I honestly couldn’t tell you what prompted our city officials to be that generous to me,” Hathaway added. “All of my accomplishments were a product of teamwork and support from some of the greatest people on this planet.”
By L. C. Leach III
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