Frank Burgin, a captain with the Buck Creek Township Fire Department, said he and nine other local first-responders are ready to assist residents along the East Coast who are hunkering down for Hurricane Dorian.
The group left Hancock County over the weekend and arrived in Columbia, S.C., late Monday in preparation for the storm, which is churning slowly northward from just off the Atlantic coast of Florida. They’re set up and staged there with other groups that are part of the American Medical Response Strike Force Team.
Overseen by FEMA, the corps of first-responders from all over the country will be ready to go where needed once the hurricane blows through.
“Right now, we’re a little anxious and ready to get to work, but we’re just securing things to make sure they don’t get blown away,” Burgin said.
However, the group is geared up, dressed and ready to roll at a moment’s notice, in its role of providing medical assistance.
The group of five paramedics and five EMT-trained officers from Buck Creek Township drove five ambulances and five trucks to Columbia, S.C. Columbia is about 120 miles from the coast.
Their responsibilities could include anything from patient triage to the transportation of patients from damaged sites to care facilities.
“We’re here to help in any way possible,” Burgin said. “Whatever they need from us.”
The group of Buck Creek Township firefighters is contracted through AMR as part of the national disaster network, dispatched through FEMA.
The group planned to stay in Columbia until the hurricane’s path became more certain.
“Being situated out of the way makes it easier for us to be able to respond,” Burgin said. “Right now, it’s a waiting game to see how it’s all going to impact the area.”
Greenfield Fire Territory sent one firefighter, Beth Haggard, as part of Indiana Task Force 1. She’s expected to also be in the damage zone to provide medical aid, said Corey Breese, public information officer for the fire territory.
