A regional crisis management team made up of emergency responders is shifting its headquarters to the city of Myrtle Beach.
Originally based out of Florence County, the team moved to the Myrtle Beach Fire Department earlier this year.
The Incident Management Team, or IMT, is made up of about 30 emergency responders from counties along the beach and in the Pee Dee who are trained to handle large-scale incidents and deploy to those areas.
It’s still the same team as before, but Chief Tom Gwyer says moving it Myrtle Beach will help give it more attention.
The IMT steps up during massive events or disasters. Twelve responders from the team most recently deployed to Florida for two weeks to help during Hurricane Michael.
“Those first responders down there are trying to do their job, but yet, you know their house is damaged or destroyed,” Gwyer said.
It’s one of the first major events the team has deployed to since moving operations to Myrtle Beach.
Emergency Manager Bruce Arnel said the city has more manpower and resources.
“We’re going to be able to give it more attention administratively,” Arnel said, “and that will in-turn get us out the door sooner and more often.”
MBFR officials say having such a team stationed out of Myrtle Beach will also benefit the city as a whole.
“The more we deploy, the more experience we get,” Arnel said. “Being able to see that first-hand helps us to better prepare for what we might encounter in the future.”
Even if members of the IMT don’t deploy they’re still a valuable asset during hurricanes or other big events.
“It’s a great opportunity to have highly trained people prepared to handle specific functions in an emergency operations center down the road,” Chief Gwyer said.
The IMT will also be able to help out in special events like CCMF and the Myrtle Beach Marathon.
The team’s equipment and training is funded entirely through Homeland Security money.
MBFR received over $100,000 in equipment and will apply for the grants every year.
