►
Description
Paul Matthews, Director of Aiken County Emergency Management, and Janice Hoffman, Executive Director of Aiken County Help Line - 211, talk about the resources that are coordinated throughout the county and the state in the event of an emergency and what residents can do to prepare and stay informed in the event of a crisis.
A
B
A
B
B
So,
let's
talk
about
what?
Specifically?
Is
emergency
management
emergency
management's,
the
process
of
coordinating
available
resources
to
deal
with
emergencies
effectively,
thereby
saving
lives,
avoiding
injury
and
minimizing
economic
laws?
And
another
thing
that
we
could
also
put
in
there
is
preserving
the
environment,
because
we
do
that
a
lot
with
our
has
team.
B
So
that's
primarily
what
we
do
our
mission,
but
we
also
have
a
goal.
Our
goal
is
the
aiken
county.
Emergency
management
division
coordinates
the
county's
integrated
emergency
management
system
through
partnerships
with
all
emergency
response
organizations,
voluntary
organizations,
private
nonprofit
organizations
and
other
support
services
to
ensure
efficient
preparation
for
effective
response
to
and
timely
recovery
from
merchants
and
disasters
to
reduce
human
suffering
and
property
loss.
There's
a
lot
packed
into
that
there's
a
lot
of
things
that
we
do
on
a
daily
basis.
A
C
B
Sure,
as
I
said,
we
have
our
brothers
and
sisters
and
yeah
EMS,
so
we
have
an
overarching
emergency
services
department.
So,
within
that
department
we
have
emergency
management,
we
have
the
Aiken
County
hazardous
materials
team.
We
have
sage
mill
fire
team,
that's
out
at
the
industrial
park
I,
and
we
also
of
course,
have
the
EMS.
A
B
At
the
federal
level
we
work
with
a
variety
of
folks:
one
would
be
department
of
energy
at
savannah
river
site.
We
also
work
with
Savannah
River
Site
Emergency
Management
Group
National
Weather
Service
out
of
Columbia
their
forecast
office.
We
work
closely
with
them.
Occasionally
we
work
with
the
FBI
on
train
briefings
and
things
like
that.
B
B
They
are
the
holder
of
a
federal
grant
so
when
it
gets
to
the
local
level,
it's
the
emergency
local
emergency
management
performance
grant
that
helps
us
purchase,
equipment
supplies
that
we
need
for
being
prepared
for
emergencies
and
disasters,
but
also
they
help
us
with
planning
and
they
also
help
with
training,
but
also
they
have
a
program
called
a
region,
regional
emergency
management
program,
and
we
refer
to
it
as
rooms.
We
have
two
realms
in
our
region
which
we're
in
region
six
for
state
emergency
management,
which
goes
from
aiken
all
the
way
to
beaufort.
Okay,.
B
All
of
those
agencies
could
be
public
works
locally.
Depending
about
the
incident
is
so
there's
a
lot
of
different
groups
that
we
certainly
were
with
that
another
one
is
the
hospital.
We
do
a
lot
of
a
lot
of
planning
and
training
with
aiken
regional
medical
centers
and
also
the
school
district.
You.
A
A
B
Is
another
key
component
of
Emergency
Management,
so
the
sheriff's
office
is
responsible
for
dispatching
law
enforcement
for
the
county?
Ok,
so
the
Sheriff's
Office
dispatch,
EMS
and
fire
for
voluntary
fire
departments.
But
you
know
the
dispatch
center
is
more
than
a
dispatch
center
to
emergency
management.
There
are
a
warning
point,
so
they're
the
first
receiving
entity
of
anything
that's
going
on.
So
if
there's
an
incident
going
on
and
they
can
say
right
now,
then
I
would
get
a
page
for
emergency
preparedness
page
from
dispatch
and
that
is
makeda.
A
B
A
B
The
state
of
South
Carolina
has
a
statewide
mutual
aid
agreement.
Aiken
County
is
a
signatory
to
that.
So
what
that
means
is
we?
If
we
have
an
incident
and
we're
overwhelmed
in
aiken
county
or
we
need
some
type
of
resource,
then
we
don't
necessarily
go
to
state
emd
and
say:
can
you
help
us
find
this
entity
or
this
resource?
A
A
Well
doing
just
as
a
person
living
in
the
community
had
no
idea
that
there
that
the
it
went
so
far
out
and
also
but
it's
very
good
to
know
that
we
have
all
these
proactive
measures
in
place
and
that
that
you
do
such
a
good
job
of
trying
to
keep
up
and
keep
these
things
relationships
and
in
place
with
with
all
the
folks
that
you
do
so
and
I
know
that
Janet's,
with
help
to
11
has
been
a
very
integral
part
of
what
you
do.
So,
let's
talk
a
little
bit
about
that
Janice.
A
C
Excuse
me,
the
Aiken
County
helpline
has
been
in
existence
for
40
years
next
year
and
a
lot
of
people
don't
realize
that,
but
how
our
collaboration
actually
begun
was
during
the
Graniteville
chlorine
release.
We
took
the
non-emergency
calls
off
of
the
911
system
to
help
without
to
help
them
not
be
burdened
with
non-emergency
calls
people
calling
wanting
to
know
about
their
pets
that
needed
rescued
where
to
go
for
shelter
where
to
go
for
food
clothing.
C
So
since
then,
we've
helped
out
during
other
disasters,
the
ice,
storms,
floods,
tornado
and
Beach
Island
a
few
years
ago
right
right,
so
we
trained
with
Paul
and
his
team
on
going
and
are
prepared
for
any
emergency
that
might
come
up.
So
it's
been
a
really
good
collaborative
effort
with
the
county
with
Paul,
especially
so
right.
C
A
C
A
C
Our
daily
operations
is,
we
are
a
hotline,
so
the
telephone
is
our
primary
vehicle
at
this
point,
and
callers
can
reach
us
24
7
by
dialing,
211
and
the
county,
and
they
are
connected
with
a
live
call
specialist.
Who
will
assess
their
needs.
Anything
from
somebody
needing
to
know
where
to
go
for
food
shelter,
which
agency
or
service
in
Aiken
County
can
provide
assistance
for
their
needs.
We
can
link
them
to
that
and
we
provide
listening
and
support
services
to
anyone
who
just
needs
to
talk.
C
A
Well,
what
what
a
wonderful
partnership
that
y'all
have
in
to
have
fielded
that
many
calls
during
an
emergency
situation
and
to
see
that
you
know
how
that
was
such
a
benefit.
I
know
that
you'll
have
some
really
great
things
that
have
been
put
into
place:
Paul.
Let's
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
levels
of
operational
conditions
and
that's
something
that
that
folks
need
to
know
about
and
how
that
operates.
For
you,
because
I
know
that
that
is
key
to
when
certain
things
kick
in.
So
let's
talk
a
little
bit
about
that.
That's.
B
Correct
we
have
operating
conditions,
that's
part
of
our
emergency
operations
plan,
but
the
state
of
South
Carolina
also
operates
under
the
same
conditions
that
op
cons
as
we
call
them,
and
they
go
from
five
to
one
so
OPCON
five
is
a
normal
day
to
day
business
for
us
we're
working
on
plans
where
we're
testing
our
equipment
to
make
sure
it
works,
we're
doing
training,
we're
doing
grant
management,
we're
doing
all
of
those
things
that
we
do
on
a
daily
basis.
So
with
advanced
technology.
B
Let's
take,
for
example,
a
working,
so
we
know
there's
a
hurricane
brewing,
we're
sort
of
watching
it
if
it
looks
like
possibly
could
impact
us
when
they
go
to
an
OP
con,
for
we
have
an
emergency
operation
center
that
we
can
talk
about
in
a
little
bit
so
that
we
may
get
a
few
folks
into
the
emergency
operation
center
just
to
start
monitoring.
Is
it
a
4?
B
Now,
when
we
get
to
an
incident
that
loose
lights,
going
impact
South
Carolina
will
go
to
a
three
and
three
is
key
for
us,
because
a
lot
of
things
happen
in
an
OP
con.
Three
we're
looking
at
enacting
our
emergency
operations
plan
and
any
specific
impact
hazard
plans.
So
in
in
the
case
of
a
hurricane,
we
would
look
at
the
state
of
South
Carolina's
hurricane
plan.
We
would
also
look
at
our
own
impact
plan
for
hurricanes.
B
We
would
start
talking
to
our
partners
and
make
sure
that
we've
got
all
the
equipment
topped
off
with
fuel,
that
all
of
our
communications
gear
works.
We're
doing
all
of
those
types
of
things
when
we
get
to
down
to
a
two.
We've
got
a
pretty
fully
staffed
EOC
at
that
point,
we're
pretty
sure
something's
going
to
impact
the
county
and
then
at
a
one
word:
full-fledged
operations
24-hour
day
emergency
operations
in
our
EOC
and
things
like
that.
But
it
doesn't
necessarily
go
from
a
five
to
a
one
right.
You
know
it.
A
A
B
Well,
the
EOC
is
a
centralized
location
where
decision
makers
can
come
together
and
support
the
incident
commander.
So
what
we
do
in
emergency
management
is
we
support
that
event?
Okay,
so
whoever's
in
charge
and
incident
commander
may
be
a
a
new
term
for
a
lot
of
people,
but
it
really
means
who's
in
charge
of
the
incident.
Okay.
So
if
it's
a
large
brush
fire
who's,
the
fire
person
in
charge
and.
A
B
A
public
health
entity
who's
the
public
health
person
who's
dealing
with
it.
So
we
would
support
that
incident
commander
through
either
personnel
or
resources.
A
good
example
would
be
lets,
say
a
large
brush
fire
and
it's
getting
dark
and
we
need
to
find
lighting.
So
in
emergency
management
we
would
go
find
light
hours
for
for
the
incident
commander,
or
we
may
look
at
going
through
the
statewide
mutual
aid
agreement
to
go
through
firefighter
mobilization
and
get
more
firefighters
in
to
relieve
those.
B
C
B
The
Aiken
EOC
is
brand
new.
We've
been
there
for
in
the
new
building
for
a
very
short
amount
of
time,
relatively
short
amount
of
time.
But
it's
a
fantastic
location.
It's
modern!
It's
got
mergency,
backup
power.
It's
got
showers
in
it.
It's
just
a
great
facility
with
the
ability
of
IT
helps
us
how
quite
a
bit
there
another
one
of
our
partners.
So
we
have
the
ability
to
project
maps
on
the
screens
or
or
any
other
type
of
displays
that
we
would
need.
We
can
watch
the
local
news
in
there.
B
B
A
critical
facility,
sir,
and
the
other
thing
that
we
have
in
there
that
I
didn't
mention
is
communications,
so
we
have
interoperable
communications
with
other
agencies,
whether
it's
state
emergency
management
or
EMS,
fire
law
enforcement.
So
we
have
that
capability
in
the
EOC.
We
also
have
a
light
telephone
and
there.
So
if
we
were
to
lose
all
communications,
we
could
certainly
use
the
SAT
phone
and
also
we
have
several
radio
setup
and
we
do
a
lot
of
training
with
our
volunteer
amateur
radio
or
ham
radio
operators,
who
are
also
vital
to
our
operation
again.
C
A
B
A
B
Official
hurricane
season
is
june,
one
through
november
30th
in
the
peak
of
hurricane
season.
We're
in
it
now
writes
mid-august
through
late
October.
So
of
course
you
watch
the
news
lately,
there's
a
lot
of
systems
not
only
in
the
Atlantic
but
also
in
the
Pacific.
Yes,
so
there's
a
good
group
of
us
that
monitor
that.
Let
me
talk
if
I
can
just
a
minute
about
our
preparedness
for
that
state.
B
Emergency
management,
as
I
said,
is
a
key
partner,
so
we
have
a
quarterly
hurricane
task
force
meeting
and
those
generally
take
place
in
santee
at
the
convention
center
there.
But
we
have
all
of
these
partners
that
we
talked
about
from
the
state
level,
some
federal
partners
there,
especially
National
Weather
Service,
and
then
our
local
County
folks.
So
we
all
come
together
and
we
talk
about
those
issues,
whether
it's
mass
care
sheltering
critical
infrastructure
transportation,
lane
reversals
whatever
it
is
with
dealing
with
hurricanes.
B
We
come
together
four
times
a
year
and
discuss
that,
but
South
Carolina
is
unique
in
that
once
a
year,
usually
in
the
spring
we
will
come
together
and
we
will
look
as
a
County
at
our
hurricane
preparedness.
So
we
have
DSS
at
the
table
with
us
department,
social
services.
They
are
the
state
entity
charged
with
sheltering
in
South
Carolina
red
cross,
supports
them
a
lot
of
people
think
of
bread
cross.
They
bring
the
people
generally,
but
DSS
by
state
law
is
responsible
for
sheltering
okay.
A
B
There
another
key
partner
of
ours,
but
we
have
DSS.
The
school
district
DHEC
is
involved
with
us
an
emergency
management.
So
what
we
do
is
we
look
at
the
various
schools
that
are
our
shelters.
We
make
sure
that
there's
not
going
to
be
any
renovations
or
things
going
on
that
may
affect
a
list
of
shelter
yeah.
So
as
far
as
I
know,
South
Carolina
is
the
only
state
in
the
nation
that
actually
comes
together
and
does
that
take
preparedness.
Of
course
we
talk
about
pet
sheltering.
B
A
B
Specifically
for
hurricanes
they
need
to
when
we're
in
hurricane
season,
to
educate
themselves
on.
What's
going
on
in
the
tropics,
pay
attention
to
the
local
news,
national
news,
there's
a
lot
of
good
internet
resources.
National
Hurricane
Center
has
a
great
website.
State
Emergency
Management
has
great
information.
One
of
the
other
things
that
we
didn't
mention
is
that
two-on-one
also
helps
us
with
our
facebook
page
and
social
media.
Okay.
So
during
an
incident
when
we
don't
have
time
to
do
that,
we
will
call
on
two
and
one
to
help
us
with
that.
B
They've
done
a
fantastic
job
with
that,
but
one
of
the
things
that
I
want
to
point
out
about
that
is
our
Facebook
page
is
not
a
to
a
system
in
that
we
push
data
out,
but
we
don't
have
the
staff
to
sit
there
and
monitor
it.
You
know
someone's
in
trouble
or
needs
help
I
need
to
dial
911
right,
because
we
do
not
monitor
that.
We
pushed
it
out
right.
A
B
If
we're
impacted
by
a
hurricane
or
tropical
storm,
there's
a
lot
of
things
that
people
need
to
be
aware
of,
I
don't
drive
through
standing
water.
We've
had
a
lot
of
flooding
through
the
country
lately,
where
you
see
people
get
installed
out,
and
unfortunately,
people
drowning,
because
they're
driving
through
through
rushing
water
or
just
standing
water,
so
never
do
that.
National
Weather
Service
says
turn
around,
don't
drown!
That's
something!
People
really
need
to
to
heed.
B
One
of
the
things
that
we
found
out
during
the
floods
was:
if
we
put
up
barricades
a
lot
of
times,
people
would
move
barricades
and
drive
around
them,
which
there
may
not
be
a
bridge
there
anymore
I
could
be
a
totally
washed
out.
There
was
one
accident
in
Richland
County,
where
someone
did
that,
and
it
was
in
the
middle
of
the
night
and
unfortunately,
they
ran
into
the
flood
water
and
drown
so
yeah.
You
need
to
stay
away
from
debris
down
power
lines.
Any
of
that.
A
We
hopefully
folks,
will
make
sure
that
they're
they're
calling
the
right
numbers
and
they're
getting
the
correct
information.
Well
as
we're
kind
of
wrapping
up
today,
we
have
seen
lots
of
natural
disasters,
I
guess
the
last
catastrophic
event
as
far
as
a
hurricane
goes,
which
Hugo
in
1990
but
Aiken
County
is
no
stranger
to
to
pretty
severe
events
that
have
happened
so,
but
let's
talk
just
just
a
few
minutes
as
we're
kind
of
winding
down
information
that
you
want
to
convey
to
to
our
viewers
that
that's
the
most
important
things
that
we
need
to
remember.
A
B
The
most
important
thing
to
remember
is
you
need
to
be
responsible
for
you
and
your
family,
and
by
that
I
mean
you
need
to
make
sure
you've
got
an
emergency
plan.
You
need
a
communications
plan
in
case
you
get
separated.
You
need
to
have
a
first-aid
kit.
It
would
be
great
if
people
would
go
out
and
learn
cpr
and
first
aid
if
they
would
get
a
fire
extinguisher
and
learn
how
to
use
it,
that
you
really
should
get
a
NOAA
Weather
Radio
as
battery
operated.
A
lot
of
people
don't
understand
our
weather
radio
system.
B
A
B
B
Know
during
the
ice
storm
we
had
an
earthquake,
so
we
have
to
be
prepared
for
multiple
hazards
at
all
times,
but
those
things
to
keep
your
family
safe,
one
of
the
things
to
look
at
is
having
some
cash
money
in
case
we
do
lose
power
and
there's
a
store,
that's
open
and
you
can
certainly
buy
things
with
cash.
The
credit
card.
B
A
B
A
A
A
B
A
B
A
lot
of
this
is
specific
to
people
that
live
along
the
coast,
but
it
has
good
information,
just
general
information
that
people
can
use
during
hurricane
season,
so
this
is
available
on
the
state
website.
South
Carolina
emergency
management
website,
in
addition
to
the
hurricane
guide,
is
also
available
there.
It
has
a
lot
of
good
information
in
it
and.
B
We
do
our
best
to
keep
our
Facebook
page
going
and
trying
to
put
good
information
out
there,
but
you
know
we
talk
about
natural
disasters
and,
of
course,
weather
is
one
of
our
main
problems
and
akin
one
of
our
main
threats.
But
we
also
have
hazardous
materials
events.
They
could
take
place
technological
events,
they
could
take
place,
so
it
there's
a
whole
array
of
hazards
that
we
need
to
be
prepared
for
sure.
A
A
You
know
during
an
event,
even
though
you
know
if
there
is
an
event
on
the
coast,
may
not
necessarily
affect
us
weather
wise,
but
it
we
could
definitely
have
folks
coming
in
and
utilizing
the
schools,
as
you
had
spoken
to
earlier
in
our
conversation
and
I,
know
that
the
city
and
the
county
yeah
they're
there,
traffic
routes
that
you
spoke
to
and
in
things
like
that.
So
I
think
that
our
folks
here
locally
do
need
to
be
aware
that
we
are
an
evacuation
point.
That's.
B
Exactly
right
so
folks
from
the
beaufort
hilton
head
and
charleston
areas
certainly
would
come
toward
aiken
county.
Now
there
are
some
routes,
there's
one
route
that
at
least
take
them
to
I-20
and
they
may
go
to
a
different
location
where,
but
we
are
a
host
county,
so
that
is
what
we're
prepared
to
do
is
to
receive
people
from
the
coast
to
get
them
out
of
harm's
way.
But
you
know
we
talk
about
all
of
our
partners
again.
We
obviously
are
working
with
the
school
district
on
that
ESS
DHEC,
Red,
Cross,
Salvation
Army.
B
B
I
think
there's
one
other
thing:
I
want
to
talk
about.
We
talk
about
the
evacuation
routes.
We
talked
about
partnering
with
srs
and
their
emergency
management.
Well,
one
of
our
evacuation
routes
comes
through
the
site.
Oh,
so
we
have
to
really
work
with
them
for
early
and
not
just
for
the
one
that
comes
through
the
site,
but
also
from
the
other
highways
that
are
around
it
for
early
dismissal
for
their
personnel.
So
there's
a
lot
of
there's
a
lot
of
moving
parts
in
there,
so
we
do
a
lot
of
communications
with
savannah
river
site.
How.
A
About
that
that
is
really
interesting.
So
why
can't
tell
you
how
much
I
appreciate
both
of
you
coming
on
today
and
talking
to
us
about
this
and
I
hope
it
everybody
who
is
watching
this
will
be
sure
and
visit
the
website
Paul's
website
and
the
South
Carolina
emergency
management
division
at
SC
e
md
org,
for
some
of
the
information
that
Paul
showed
ready.gov
is
another
great
one,
South
Carolina
511.
So
in
all
ways
please
contact
Paul
Mathews
with
the
Aiken
County
Emergency
Management
for
more
information,
so
again,
Janice
Paul.