IOP first responders take part in full-scale exercise to prepare for hurricanes

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) – First responders on the Isle of Palms put their hurricane response skills to the test on Wednesday during a full-scale exercise involving an imaginary storm.

“Hurricane Emma hit just south of Charleston in Hilton Head which made us prone to that northeast section of the hurricane and a simulated tornado struck Wild Dunes Resort here on the Isle of Palms,” said IOP Public Information Officer Sgt. Matt Storen when describing the make-believe sequence of events.

IOP police officers busted through the doors of a room inside of the resort, which jumpstarted the exercise. First responders quickly tended to the four volunteers pretending to be victims who sustained injuries amid the chaos.

“I was trying to come up with a story of like what they were doing, of like what to tell them like what happened and all of that. Tell them how they can help me,” said Caleb Sanders, one of the volunteers.

Fire and police personnel, staying focused as it if were a real-life event, moved onto the next part of the simulation which consisted of medevacking one of the fake patients with a critical injury.

They hurried down the stairs, carrying Sophia Maynard who played the part, before taking off in all-terrain vehicles.

“It was definitely a little overwhelming for me at first. I’ve never been in like a situation like this. But it was very reassuring to see how calm and how prepared they were for a situation like this,” Maynard told News 2.

Onlookers watched and waited for a Medical University of South Carolina helicopter to arrive to the island’s recreation center.

After a few minutes, the helicopter landed, Maynard was loaded inside, and they were back in the air again, marking the end of the exercise.

“We’re always telling viewers to be prepared and have a plan, especially when we’re going into hurricane season. It’s no different for us as responders. We have to have a plan and we need to practice those plans. Today was the exact reason we do that,” Sgt. Storen shared.

The simulation was part of a larger multi-day exercise conducted by the Charleston County Emergency Management Department. According to Sgt. Storen, evaluators took notes and graded their response during the event. They will meet for a debrief to review how everything went.