BATON ROUGE, La. (GOHSEP) – The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) continues to coordinate support for states expected to be impacted by Hurricane Dorian. Following a request from the South Carolina Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Gov. John Bel Edwards has approved the deployment of State Fire Marshal staff and emergency services partners to assist with Hurricane Dorian response.

The ten-member Incident Support Team (IST), specializing in disaster deployment operations and logistics, departed Baton Rouge this morning to offer their expertise in organizing and managing numerous search and rescue teams responding to multiple missions at once.

Many of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams on standby in South Carolina for Dorian currently have worked with the SFM during previous disaster response missions, including the most recent with Hurricane Barry in our own state just last month.

“Once again, our state is being recognized for the exceptional assistance we can provide in times of emergency,” said State Fire Marshal Chief H. “Butch” Browning, “We are proud to be able to help another state in their potential time of need and hope to supplement the already strong emergency response system the South Carolina State Fire Marshal’s Office has in place.”

Seven ambulance teams with a total of 35 units and 80 personnel arrived in Florida Saturday as emergency officials there prepare for this dangerous system. 

There is an established state-to-state assistance program used to coordinate support through GOHSEP.  The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) offers assistance during governor-declared states of emergency or disaster through a responsive, straightforward system that allows states to send personnel, equipment, and commodities to assist with response and recovery efforts in other states.  EMAC establishes a firm legal foundation for sharing resources between states. Once the conditions for providing assistance to a requesting state have been set, the terms constitute a legally binding agreement. The EMAC legislation solves the problems of liability and responsibilities of cost and allows for credentials, licenses, and certifications to be honored across state lines.

You can download the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guide and find other information at www.getagameplan.org.