Area fire agencies sign mutual aid agreement

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Several fire and rescue agencies in the Charleston area have signed on to an automatic mutual aid agreement to better provide service to nearby communities.

The Isle of Palms Fire Department is now joining six other agencies as part of the agreement in 2023.

“It’s a great stop to get IOP included with this,” said Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds. “We’re excited to be a part of it.”

Charleston, North Charleston, St. Andrews Public Service District, James Island Public Service District, St. John’s Fire District, Mount Pleasant, and the Isle of Palms each signed Wednesday an interlocal agreement for automatic aid and response to provide mutual assistance during emergencies during a special ceremony at the North Charleston Fire Museum.

“Our automatic aid agreement that we just signed will leverage the power of the group to have resources automatically dispatched based on severity and call type,” said Isle of Palms Fire Chief Craig Oliverius.

This mutual aid means when you have an emergency, more people will be headed your way, regardless of the municipal and service district.

“So, what they might see is they’re definitely going to see more fire apparatus when we have an incident to assist… more personnel and fire personnel from other municipalities, fire agencies, who will be on Isle of palms to assist us when needed.”

More people responding will help cut down response times.

“Minutes count, seconds count, in cardiac arrest and allergic reaction and also in a building fire or structure fire, so having those assets prepackaged and predetermined is huge. Response times are very critical for us to deliver elite customer service and that’s what we want to do.”

The agreement went into effect at 8:30 a.m. and lasts in perpetuity.