Rescue crews, fire officials, law enforcement agencies and emergency teams from all over the state have been working to both extinguish fires and assist victims. The Lowcountry Incident Management Team has been instrumental in that effort.
Team spokesman Peter Rogers says, “Right now it’s too early in the investigation for law enforcement and fire officials really to determine the exact cause, is it one fire, is it a multitude of fires… it’s just too early right now. The number one concern right now is the safety of the citizens of Horry County and all of those that are in this county visiting.”
Rogers says the South Carolina Incident Management Team is brought in to assist in the management of the fire operations.
“Horry County has been running this incident for over 24 hours their personnel are exhausted. So, the Incident Management Team is a management style team that is made up of first responders that come in, they can assist with the management operation or they can come in a completely relieve that crew that’s been here for a certain number of hours that are exhausted. IMT has four teams that are throughout the state, at present, the Lowcountry IMT team, which is made up of 14 counties and is based out of the Summerville Fire Department, has been deployed to relieve the Horry Country command staff,” says Rogers.
Another similar group , The Pee Dee Incident Management Team, is in North Myrtle Beach command posts to assist those units in its operations.