EMS workers in Andrews have a medical emergency of their own.
Georgetown County Fire and EMS Chief Mack Reed said employees have been exposed to large amounts of mold.
“Guys [are} having headaches and respiratory problems,” he said.
After an ongoing battle with mold, the county had to shut down the station to rip out the walls and ceiling. It’s a project that will take about a month, Reed said.
In the meantime, EMS workers had to move out, and that means it takes them more time to respond to calls.
“We are concerned about the extra seven minutes,” Reed said, “but we have to look out for our guys too.”
The typical response time for emergency workers is two to three minutes. Now, coming from their home in the Nine Mile Curve community, it takes about seven.
“We looked around the find another place, and we couldn't find any,” Reed explained.
EMS workers spend half their day at the senior center in town, but at night they move to the fire station at Nine Mile Curve. That’s about 9 miles outside Andrews boundaries.
So he said with the extra minutes added to response time, he urges people in the area to call immediately if they think they have an emergency.
“Early notification is the thing,” he said. He said it could be the difference between life and death.
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