Colleton named best in state for handling emergencies, disasters

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By HEATHER WALTERS 

Colleton County has been named the Emergency Management Agency of the year for the State of South Carolina, beating out 45 other counties in the Palmetto State for the award. 

Colleton received the award virtually last week, during the South Carolina Emergency Management Association’s annual two-day conference. Being named Agency of the Year means that each emergency support division of the county – from Colleton County Fire-Rescue to the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office – outranked every other county in its ability to assist the public during emergencies and disasters. 

Local officials say their receiving this award is particularly important to them, as Colleton has been living in an international pandemic during the last year. 

“It is an honor to be selected as Agency of the Year by SCEMA,” said Barry McRoy, chief of Colleton County Fire-Rescue. The fire-rescue agency now oversees all emergency management in Colleton County. “We have made some tremendous improvements in our emergency management initiative since County Council assigned the emergency management responsibilities to the Fire-Rescue Department in 2018,” he said. 

“Many of our improvements are by way of improved planning, process or technology. However, our biggest asset is the participation and collaboration of our emergency support function partner agencies. 

“Although the list is too long to mention, this award belongs to many of those individuals in county, municipal and state agencies who work alongside us in serving Colleton County,” said McRoy. 

“They are equally as responsibility for why our citizens are better protected today than they were yesterday, and we greatly value our partnership with them,” he said. 

Specifically, there is a near 5-page list of improvements that have been implemented in Colleton County as part of the county’s emergency response protocols. These improvements, which have been done within the last 12-18 months, are all focused around keeping Colleton residents safe before, during and after a disaster or emergency. This includes hurricanes, natural disasters and manmade emergencies, such as a chemical spill or terrorist attack. 

The first major improvement done in Colleton County includes preparedness. 

The county now has a web-based Incident Action Plan, which every agency and municipality in the county knows. This keeps everyone on the same page during an emergency. It also includes Colleton having Spanish-speaking options for its residents. 

There are also two new Incident Management Teams who operate the county’s Emergency Operations Center during an emergency, along with CERT, the Community Emergency Response Team. This is a group of volunteers who work with officials during an emergency. “CERT assisted with information distributing at public events, delivering FEMA flyers after the April 13, 2020 tornado outbreak,” according to information provided to the newspaper by Dr. David Green, with Colleton County Fire-Rescue. “CERT was also instrumental in completing a Hazardous Materials Commodity Flow Study early last year.” 

Colleton also received the state award for its ability to help residents during an actual disaster. This includes putting a new large generator at Colleton County High School, which is an official pet-friendly public shelter. A generator was also added to the Dogwood Hills Complex, giving the county a second shelter without interrupting schools. Colleton County Recreation Center is also now a certified American Red Cross shelter. 

Colleton County is also the first county in the state to complete Stop the Bleed training for every educator, administrator, and school bus driver in public and private school systems. Each school also has a Bleeding Control kit. 

The county’s emergency response plans are also now based on technology: there are cameras in the Emergency Operations Center, along with a new electronic sign-in system. Colleton County also now has multiple weather stations positioned throughout the county, and there are multiple radio operators that officials can use during an emergency. 

As for recovery after an emergency, Colleton received the state award for its plan to clean up after an event. This includes the county having 20 debris sites that are DHEC-approved; having designated areas in the county for residents to receive donated goods that they might need; having an actual donated goods warehouse stocked within the county; and having plans to receive supplies for residents through the Lowcountry Regional Airport, the rail system, and multiple highways. 

Why Emergency Response is Important 

According to Greene, Colleton County emergency officials dealt with multiple disasters in 2020. Each of the above-mentioned systems helped to navigate these situations. The emergency situations that occurred in 2020 in Colleton County included a cyber-attack; the COVID-19 pandemic; a tornado outbreak; a dam break; a tropical storm; and an unexploded ordnance discovered at the Lowcountry Regional Airport from World War II. 

This is the first time that Colleton County has been given this award by SCEMA. 

According to Meagan Utsey, spokeswoman for Colleton County, SCEMA is the premier emergency management organization in the state of South Carolina.