The Holly Hill and Eutawville fire departments are merging into East Lake Fire Rescue to cut response times without raising costs. ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Two fire departments in Orangeburg County are joining forces in hopes of cutting emergency response times for local residents. On Tuesday, the Holly Hill and Eutawville fire departments voted to create a new district known as East Lake Fire Rescue. The combined department will serve about 150 square miles with five stations and a crew of 30 volunteer firefighters. Interim Fire Chief R. Walter Kinsey said the merger is expected to improve how quickly crews can respond, potentially cutting response times by six minutes. “Dispatch has 3 minutes from the first tone to the second tone, so if there is nobody responding on the first tone they tone again. And then they go to the next department. Well now they don't have to wait those 6 minutes now when they tone out they're gonna tone out this area and if they're close, they're gonna respond,” Kinsey said. Kinsey said the merger wouldn’t raise costs for residents in the district. “I want them to know that they can have faith in the in the fire service today in their community sometimes that gets. Put out to pass when bad things happen but we are here for the community our volunteers volunteer because they wanna be here,” Kinsey said. The final vote to appoint a new fire chief for East Lake Fire Rescue is set for May 6 at 7 p.m. at the Holly Hill Main Fire Station. The meeting is open to the public.