The S.C. Helicopter Aquatics Rescue Team (HART) team returned home to South Carolina to assist residents and prepare for Irma after going out to Texas last Tuesday. Greenville City Fire Department’s Lieutenant Scott Jackson was part of the HART team sent to assist in search + rescues after Hurricane Harvey. It was the first time S.C. HART has deployed out of our state.
The S.C. team, along with the North Carolina and Texas HART teams, and the US Coast Guard, flew 47 missions – four of those missions resulted in rescues.
S.C. HART was started in 2008 as a collaboration between the South Carolina Army National Guard and the South Carolina Urban Search & Rescue Team, which is comprised of emergency volunteer responders who have completed specialized rescue training. The HART team includes a S.C. Army National Guard helicopter + crew, three firefighters, and two rescue/swimmer specialists.
Prior to Hurricane Harvey, SC HART assisted with the “1000 Year Flood” in Columbia in 2015, and Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
Now, Jackson and the rest of the team are getting ready to deploy if they’re needed after Hurricane Irma.
