Until this year, if the Isle of Palms Fire Department required outside help, Chief Craig Oliverius had to quickly assess the situation, then manually request assistance from a nearby town. Now that support will arrive automatically.
IOP and six other fire departments – Mount Pleasant, Charleston, North Charleston, James Island, Johns Island and St. Andrews – are part of the automatic aid agreement. Mount Pleasant came aboard last year, and IOP joined the group on Jan. 4 of this year, while the other five launched the pact more than a decade ago.
According to Oliverius, the system “breaks down jurisdictional boundaries.” He explained that based on pre-established protocols, the Charleston County dispatcher, who knows where each piece of fire-fighting equipment is located at any given time, assigns resources depending on a variety of factors, including the size of a building, how many people might possibly be in the building and how long it will take for a specific vehicle to reach the scene of a fire, major motor vehicle accident, automobile extrication or fire alarm activation.
For example, if the IOP Fire Department was fighting a major fire in Wild Dunes, Mount Pleasant might be called on to assist with a fire at the other end of the island.
“The dispatcher knows exactly what is needed, from residential fires to high-rises and everything in between, and they provide a specific resource package,” Oliverius said. “This reduces response time because resources don’t have to be requested manually. It’s an efficient system.”
The IOP chief said that his department and Mount Pleasant’s already have responded to calls in the other’s jurisdiction. He said it’s possible, in the case of multiple fires, that IOP could receive or provide help for the other five members of the group as well.
The cooperation among the Lowcountry’s fire departments extends beyond the automatic aid program. The Charleston County Fire Chiefs Association gets together once a month, and Oliverius said he participates in a conference call with the other six departments at 8 a.m. every morning. In addition, the seven operations chiefs talk over the phone with one another every Monday. It’s all about being prepared for what might happen.
“We get a picture of all the resources that might be available to help us,” Oliverius said. “Maybe a specialty unit, such as a hazmat or marine unit, might be out of service. We need to make sure what’s available.”