Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Morrison broke ground in emergency services
in 1981 with the Kent State University Volunteer Ambulance Service. He started his full time firefighting career
in the United States Air Force as a Crew Chief on both structural and crash
apparatus. When completing his tour of
active duty with the Air Force, he continued on to the civilian world working
the Midway Fire Department in South Carolina eventually earning the rank of
Master Firefighter/Paramedic. From here
he expanded his career as a Captain with the Horry County Fire Department and
worked extensively with EMS and Fire in their 2000 merger of services. Thomas attained the rank of Battalion Chief
with Horry County Fire and Rescue. Throughout
the years in Horry County Thomas also
actively volunteered as and engineer/paramedic with Murrells Inlet-Garden City
Fire Rescue. In 2003 he expanded his
specialization to Fire Inspector for the Department of the Army at Fort Gordon,
Georgia. Thomas holds the rank of
Master Sergeant and Assistant Chief of Operations in the Air Force Reserves.
With education being a major part of his career he continues with his
degree in Fire Science at the University of Cincinnati while simultaneously
working on a B.S. in Biology from Kent State University and the University of
South Carolina. Thomas has an Associate
of Fire Science from the Community College of the Air Force and an Associate of
Science from Kent State.
Thomas also earned the title of Fire Officer IV, Instructor III,
Inspector III. and Hazardous Materials Incident Commander. In 2000 Thomas was invited to become an
adjunct instructor for the Emergency Services Training Institute (ESTI) at
Texas A & M University. 2003 found
Thomas instrumental in development of the Fort Gordon/Texas A & M
Cooperative Learning Center, which he oversaw until joining the Clearcreek Fire
District in April 2007. In 2006 he was
invited to join ESTI’s curriculum review and development group. Thomas considers his invitations and
subsequent relationship with Texas A & M one of the greatest achievements
in his career. Thomas also spent
several years teaching and sitting on the South Carolina Fire Academy’s
Instructor Orientation and Development committee.
As well as his extensive fire background, Thomas is also a Critical Care
and National Registry Paramedic and has instructor status in Tactical Combat
Critical Care for the military