Horry County rescue crews on standby for Florida deployment, officials say

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Just days removed from helping their fellow first responders in South Carolina’s storm-battered Upstate, Horry County crews are now on standby to aid in Florida should the need arise.

“From the very beginning (of Helene) until today, your employees — your firefighters — have been assisting those in the Upstate and North Carolina,” Horry County Fire Rescue chief Joseph Tanner told a council subcommittee on Tuesday. “And now they’re prepared to go to Florida to do the very same thing.”

Milton is expected to slam west central Florida Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane, bringing a possible storm surge of 15 feet.

On Monday, members of Horry County’s public works and stormwater teams returned home from Anderson County, where they helped clear roads and provided a fuel truck.

Officials on Sept. 30 said 40 employees had fanned out across the Upstate to help staff local fire departments, coordinate with emergency management teams and assist with code enforcement.

“For those who were up there responding, we made a tremendous impact on those counties up there,” Horry County emergency management director Sam Hodge said. “They were all very grateful for all our support.”

Several Horry County Fire Rescue members are attached to a statewide urban search and rescue team that was also sent into North Carolina, Tanner said. Those members are now in Columbia awaiting new orders that likely will send them into Florida.

“It really makes a difference,” Tanner said. “I’ve had fire chiefs from the Upstate call me and say, ‘I don’t know how you do this every year.'”

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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