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Burke County emergency services outlines restructuring, describes massive Grace Heights evacuation and rising search-and-rescue workload
Summary
Burke County emergency services leaders described a departmental realignment that moved emergency management into Emergency Services, detailed a mass evacuation at Grace Heights Health and Rehabilitation on July 13, and warned of rising search-and-rescue calls and overtime costs tied to greater public use of federal wilderness areas.
After a departmental realignment that moved emergency management out of the fire marshal’s office and into Burke County Emergency Services, county Emergency Medical Services Director James Robertson told the Board of Commissioners on July 21 that the change is intended to improve preparedness and response for large incidents. Robertson, introduced as the county’s EMS director, said the July 13 fire and evacuation at Grace Heights Health and Rehabilitation showed the practical benefits of the reorganization and of recent interagency coordination. “We set up unified command,” Robertson said. “Seventy-one patients were moved to the Foothills Higher Education Center … 91 patients were moved in an hour and 53 minutes.”The move places emergency…
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