Louisiana emergency personnel are heading to the Carolinas to assist in the response to Hurricane Florence.
The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) says nearly one hundred personnel are being deployed as part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) which allows for coordination between states to assist areas where governors have declared a state of emergency.
GOHSEP says the teams being deployed include a four-person emergency operations center support team from the New Orleans Fire Department assisting North Carolina. The State Fire Marshall's office is providing help to South Carolina with a swift rescue team, an urban search and rescue team, and an incident support team. The help should begin to arrive in the region today.
“In addition to the teams currently being deployed, other state agencies are also working to fill additional requests from states in Florence’s path. Louisiana is often called upon to help other states during an emergency because of our experience in dealing with disasters and because of our ability to efficiently manage EMAC requests,” said GOHSEP Director Jim Waskom in a press release. “We are monitoring several tropical threats as we reach the peak of hurricane season. We urge everyone to stay aware of these threats for any potential impact to Louisiana. Keep your emergency supply kits stocked and your emergency plans up to date.”
Louisiana State Fire Marshal Butch Browning added, “Louisiana has received an outpouring of assistance for our emergencies in the past. So the call to return the favor to South Carolina now is a very important one for us to answer. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is sending over rescue equipment along with personnel who are experts in the field with hundreds of hours of real-time disaster response experience. We hope to be as great an impact to our friends in South Carolina as others have been to us in our times of need.”
Also, four New Orleans EMS Paramedics are preparing to head out to the East Coast to assist with the emergency response. Cole Dupepe, Chris Keller, TJ Gros and Andrew Bouck will be assigned to a swiftwater/floodwater rescue team.
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