2 Baltimore County Fire Officials Respond to Hurricane Matthew

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Two Baltimore County first responders are in South Carolina assisting with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

Lt. Brandon Watkins of the Hillendale station and Fire Specialist Christopher Hale of the Texas station are on an eight-day deployment as part of a helicopter aquatic rescue team requested by emergency personnel in South Carolina.

The helicopter technicians from Baltimore County are working with the Maryland Army National Guard at McEntire Joint National Air Base in Hopkins, South Carolina, officials said.

More than 4,000 National Guard members were deployed to South Carolina and Florida last week once both governors declared states of emergency.

At least a foot of rain fell in South Carolina, where three people died in the flood as of Sunday — two victims in vehicles and one in his submerged wheelchair — according to the National Guard.

Officials said 10 people died in North Carolina, three in South Carolina and three in Georgia, one in Virginia and six in Florida.

The UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from Maryland has four National Guardsmen and the two swift water technicians from the Baltimore County Fire Department aboard. They left Maryland Oct. 7 and will return by Oct. 15, according to public safety authorities.

The Baltimore County Fire Department is the only jurisdiction in the state that has a memorandum of understanding with the Maryland Army National Guard and regularly trains with its members for situations such as hurricanes and floods.

Photo courtesy of Maryland National Guard.