News Flash

[ARCHIVED] Lincoln County Swift Water Rescue Team Deploys

The Lincoln County Swift Water Rescue Team will deploy to Duplin County, North Carolina to assist with recovery and active rescues in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.

 

North Carolina Emergency Management activated the Lincoln County Swift Water Rescue Team, a NC Type III Swift Water Rescue Team, on Thursday, September 13th as a regional asset to cover Lincoln, Gaston, Catawba, and parts of Mecklenburg County during the duration of Hurricane Florence in the Western Carolinas.  The Team did not have any responses during the event, and were stood down from their first task on Monday, September 17th.

A request was made for the team to deploy to Duplin County on Tuesday morning and 11-member team began preparations for deployment.  Joining the Lincoln County Team will be 4 members from Blowing Rock, which consists of 3 paramedics and 1 fire fighter.  

Team Leader, Lieutenant Todd Lewis of East Lincoln Fire Department, stated that it will be at least a 10 day deployment to Duplin County.  One of the bonuses for the deployment is that the team will be operating on the state’s 800 mhz VIPER system with 12 radios.  Lewis also stated that a portion of the team will be maintained in Lincoln County, in the event of a water rescue back home.  

The team will depart from East Lincoln Fire Department in Stanley, NC and will report to the fairgrounds in Kenansville, North Carolina.  The team is anticipating around a 5 hour trip, but depending upon flooding or road conditions, may make the trip much more longer.

Contact:
Ronald D. Rombs Jr, Public Information Officer
rrombs@lincolne911.org
(704) 685-2559