Fire Chief Ben Waring was born and raised in Summerville and joined the Fire Service as a junior volunteer with the Summerville Fire Department in 1995. He began his full-time career in 1997 with the City of Charleston Fire Department where he served for more than 15 years obtaining the rank of Captain.

In 2012, Ben was selected as Battalion Chief of the newly created Dorchester County Fire Rescue. He served in this position until being hired as our very first full-time Fire Chief.

Ben joined the Pine Ridge Fire Department in 1997 as a volunteer Firefighter. He rose through the ranks within Pine Ridge and was appointed as a volunteer Fire Chief in February of 2007. As department funding increased, the Board offered him a part-time salary. He served in this status until November of 2021 when area growth demanded full-time leadership and he left Dorchester County to assume the Full-time position as Chief. Chief Waring has seen many changes over his 25 years and has been instrumental in leading the department into the successful combination department that it is today.   

Chief Waring serves as Vise-Chair of the Berkeley County Fire Chiefs Assoc., a member of the SC Fire Chiefs Assoc., member and Trustee with the SC Firefighters Assoc. and is active in many community organizations within Berkeley and Dorchester Counties. He is a member of the Summerville Presbyterian Church, Summerville Masonic Lodge #234 and the Omar Shrine Temple. In his free time enjoys spending time with family and friends.