Any volunteer fire department having a headquarters station within or without a municipality, which is duly organized and has the officers which normally comprise the membership of a regular, organized fire department, with ten or more active members, is designated a regular, organized fire department.
The chief of the department shall annually certify to the governing body of the municipality or the county, dependent upon where the headquarters station is located, the names of all officers and active members. The clerk of the governing body shall in turn certify the names of the active members and the officers to the State Fire Marshal.
S.C. Code § 23-9-390