• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2022
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

3 Flagler Emergency Operations Specialists In South Carolina as Part of Incident Team

October 5, 2015 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

south carolina flooding flagler deployment
A member of the National Guard in rain-soaked South Carolina yesterday, assisting with recovery operations. (South Carolina National Guard)

Three Flagler County emergency responders are part of a seven-member Northeast Florida incident management team sent to South Carolina, at South Carolina’s request, to help the state manage and recover from disastrous flooding triggered by Hurricane Joaquin.


Flagler County Fire Rescue Operations Chief Mike Bazanos, Captain Richard Bennett, and Laura Nelson, a Mitigation Planner at Flagler County Emergency Management, arrived in Columbia, the South Carolina capital Sunday afternoon, after a trip that took twice as long as it normally wood because of closures to long stretches of the Interstate system from water damage. The seven-member team is working from the state capital at the moment, pending re-deployments to any county emergency operations center that needs the help.

Flooding associated with Hurricane Joaquin has overrun dams, cut off electricity to hundreds of thousands, required numerous so-called swiftwater rescues and, as of today, had caused at least five deaths. South Carolina deployed its National Guard, opened shelters across the state and closed schools. Some 70 miles of I-95 were closed to traffic.

County Administrator Craig Coffey briefly informed the Flagler County Commission this morning about what may amount to a 14-day deployment of Flagler’s personnel, which will not cost the county: South Carolina is footing the entire bill, and will reimburse Flagler.

It is the first since the wildfires of the summer of 2011 that Flagler County’s and the Northeast Florida Incident management Team have been activated for an actual mission, as opposed to training exercises, which happen every year. In 2011, some 10 or 11 members of that team, including Kevin Guthrie, then a planning and finance section chief, were deployed to Flagler County to help local emergency responders manager the wildfires. Guthrie was subsequently hired as Flagler’s emergency management manager, though in effect he is the director of that division.


Providing critically needed help while gaining experience useful back home.


Bazanos and Bennett are more than familiar with emergency management: they were central to the management team in the 2011 fires, and by going to South Carolina are only broadening the sort of experience that may become critical in a local operation.

“I’m very thankful to the county administrator and the Board of County Commissioners that allow us to send members of our local community to respond to these disasters so they can gain knowledge and experience to bring back here for the benefit of our community,” Guthrie said this afternoon.

Guthrie, a deputy incident commander for the Northeast Florida team—which covers 13 counties—got a call Saturday morning from the Florida division of emergency management, placing the equivalent of a request for proposal for emergency management teams: the Northeast Florida team sent its proposal to South Carolina, as were proposals from teams across several southern states. “We in essence say you need an eight person incident management team, this is what it’s going to cost you for that team,” Guthrie said. “Typically they go with the most qualified, and then they go for the lowest price point in the state.”

The team in Columbia can be deployed to any point in the state within four or five hours. In the meantime, Bazanos has been working on securing freshwater for local hospitals, six of which were without water (he’s been using contacts in Florida to resolve the issue) while Nelson has been doing planning work (“there’s never enough planners on an incident like this,” Guthrie said), which sounds more pedestrian than it is: daily action and situation reports are directly responsible for ensuring that the disaster’s financial consequences are accounted for, and reimbursed appropriately. Bennett is a liaison officer who works with all the internal and external agencies as a point of contact back to the incident management team, what Guthrie refers to as the “rabbit chaser, because they’re constantly running down issues that may exist with a specific agency.”

If the state deems the help from Florida’s incident management team unnecessary, it’ll be demobilized ahead of its 14-day assignment. But for now, the state looked like it was in dire need of more, not less, help even as rain was tapering off.

“Our motto for instance management team is to bring order out of chaos,” Guthrie said, referring back to a briefing he’s been giving on incident management in the last few months, to local officials and business leaders.

Flagler is not without its own responders should a disaster strike locally: if that happens, an incident management team from a different part of Florida will be sent to South Carolina, enabling local responders to return to their home counties. The Federal Emergency Management Administration is “well aware that we have to take care of home first but they’re very appreciative when we can assist,” Guthrie said.

Other than Guthrie and the three members in South Carolina, the three other members of Flagler’s portion of the Northeast Florida Incident management Team are Joe King, Jennifer Stagg and Suzanne Eubanks.

point of distribution flooding
A Point of Distribution (POD) that the Flagler team helped establish, one of four opened in th last 24 hours. ‘People were lined up ready for their water ration before we even could get there,’ Flagler Emergency’s Laura Nelson, said. ‘At this time we were handing water to the people who were standing and waiting. Later we transitioned to placing water in vehicles as they drove up. (Laura Nelson)
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
You and your neighbors collectively read our articles about 25,000 times each day (that's not a typo) with up to 65,000 daily reads during emergencies like hurricanes. Flagler County residents rely on FlaglerLive for essential, bold and analytical journalism that cannot be found anywhere else. But we depend on your support. Please join our December fund drive! If you donate the cost of a scoop of ice cream, you will be helping us continue to provide comprehensive local news and honest, serious journalism for our community. If you can donate more or become a monthly donor, even better. Donations are tax deductible since FlaglerLive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donate by clicking anywhere in this box. Think of it as buying a scoop, in every sense of the term!  
All donors' identities are kept confidential and anonymous.
   

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
  • WNZF Creekside Festival

Recent Comments

  • Richard on No Plans Yet for Florida Health Departments to Offer New Covid Vaccine Even as It Rolls Out in Other States
  • Pat on No Plans Yet for Florida Health Departments to Offer New Covid Vaccine Even as It Rolls Out in Other States
  • PeachesMcGee on Taylor Manjarres, 20, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Her Role in Shooting Death of Zaire Roberts
  • jeffery c. seib on ‘No Smoke and Mirrors’: New Baler Helps Flagler Beach Recycle 4 Tons of Cardboard a Week
  • What Else Is New on Moms for Liberty: Joyful Warriors or Anti-Government Conspiracists?
  • Steve on Taylor Manjarres, 20, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Her Role in Shooting Death of Zaire Roberts
  • Joy Cook on Rezoning Enabling Up to 850 Homes in Seminole Woods Causes Sharp Debate Before Palm Coast Approval
  • Marion on Taylor Manjarres, 20, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Her Role in Shooting Death of Zaire Roberts
  • Atbp on Time to Stop Using Individuality-Obliterating Acronyms Like BIPOC
  • Laurel on Michael Benkert, on the Run for 19 Days Since Flagler Beach Trailer Park Manhunt, Is Arrested
  • Laurel on At Root of Palm Coast’s Affordable Housing Crisis: We Got Our Own. Screw the Rest. 
  • Bill on At Root of Palm Coast’s Affordable Housing Crisis: We Got Our Own. Screw the Rest. 
  • Say no to Facists on How Biases Against Black-Sounding First Names Lead to Job Discrimination
  • Laurel on DeSantis Will Debate Gavin Newsom in Georgia in November
  • Foresee on Time to Stop Using Individuality-Obliterating Acronyms Like BIPOC
  • Gene on Montessori School Owner Kerri Huckabee, 54, Arrested on 3 Felonies in Dispute with Flagler Beach Neighbors

Log in