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By Zarria Mccall

On May 23, Fort Deposit Volunteer Fire Department Battalion Commander Brandyn Sousa was promoted to Assistant Fire Chief.

This promotion, Sousa said, was a hard-earned achievement for the seasoned firefighter.

He credits his love for the community and their overflowing gratitude as his source of inspiration. 

“It’s just to help out the community,” said Brandyn. “When someone calls 9-1-1, and we go there and help them and they give us a smile or a thank you, that’s what really encourages me and puts a smile back on my face to go to the next call. The appreciation towards the fire department is what really makes me continue.”

Sousa first became interested in firefighting when he was seventeen years old during his junior year of high school. He enrolled in college training classes, and later in his senior year, he applied and was accepted into the Fire Academy.

After graduating, he joined a volunteer company in California. Sousa went on to be an active firefighter there for the next fourteen years. He worked various jobs, one of which was one of the biggest fires in California’s history: The Campfire. It started in Butte County in November 2018, destroying more than 18,000 structures and causing 85 deaths. 

“It [burned three football fields in a second, and about a million acres plus in a day and a half,” Sousa said.

After working as a firefighter in California, he moved to Fort Deposit and began volunteering with the local department, sharing his knowledge and experience. He recalled that there was a big transition from his fast-paced job in California to the small county of Fort Deposit.

“It’s a lot slower paced here,” said Sousa. “I’m used to 20 to 30 calls a day. Our grass fires in California were anywhere from 10 to 160 acres, and that was a normal grass fire for us. Here if it’s bigger than half an acre, it’s massive. So, it’s a big, big change, but it gives us an opportunity to look at each situation a little differently and train a lot more at a slower pace.”

During his time in California, Sousa underwent various training sessions including water rescue, mass shootings, casualties, and online training courses. He has begun to implement this training into his new role as the assistant fire chief, teaching water rescue procedures, hazmat evacuations and basic medical administration to his department.

“I’ve been through multiple different trainings, like water rescue mass shootings, casualties and stuff like that,” said Sousa. “I’ve been teaching our department to stage out an area until the sheriff’s department gets there, how to bandage bullet wounds, stab wounds and other stuff including water rescue procedures. I also take online classes to keep me refreshed to train our guys for hazmat evacuations, i.e. letting the public know when red flag warnings are in effect for no burning and stuff like that.”

Recently Sousa has been focused on getting more training throughout the community by teaching CPR and AD procedures. 

“The training now is just getting more involved in the community. Trying to get CPR and AD throughout the county to help other departments be more vigilant and more hands-on when they get called out, “Sousa said.

Sousa also attends monthly meetings in Hayneville as part of the Lowndes County Fire Association, meeting with local chiefs and their departments to stay connected and ensuring that every department is up to par in training and equipment and can provide extra support when needed.

“We have our monthly meetings up in Hayneville,” Sousa said. “All the chiefs and their departments come down. If we have a big incident here in Fort Deposit, we call Collirene or whatever [the] closest department [is] to us to help.”

Sousa asserts that he wants to help prepare both the fire and police department for future emergencies by sharing his knowledge.

“ I want to bring that knowledge to our sheriff’s department and our police department. So that everyone is basically in a giant big bubble and knows what’s going on.”

In addition to networking with local fire departments and implementing new training regimens Sousa participates in different volunteer programs throughout the community. For the last four years he has been an active volunteer in the Toys for Tots program, raising money and passing out toys to the local youth. 

“We passed out toys a couple weeks before Christmas and came out with the big fire engine for the kids. We try to help the community and promote what we do here at the fire department,” Sousa said.

Sousa, along with his department, has also started fundraising initiatives to raise money for new equipment.

“We’ve also done boot drive fundraisers to get money for some equipment that we need and stuff like that,” he said, “When we do get the equipment, we let the public know and thank them for their contributions.”

He claims that his new role as the Assistant Fire Chief has had a significant impact on him. Pushing him and inspiring him to do better and strive for more for his department. 

“It pushes me,” said Sousa. “It makes me do a lot better. I try to get as much training as I possibly can so that I can share my knowledge with the fire department to put them on an equal playing field. “So that even if I’m not there on call, they know what to do and what to expect.”

Alongside Sousa, Bob Watkins was promoted to fire chief but has since stepped down. Frieda B. Cross, president of the department’s board of directors, confirmed the re-election process for a new chief. 

“We’ve got a meeting scheduled and we’ve got some prospects in mind but that’s all I can say at the moment,” Cross said.