LA PLATA, Md. (Sept. 3, 2008)—Charles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel have been sent to Louisiana to assist that State in its efforts to respond to, and recover from, the impacts of Hurricane Gustav.
The Charles County EMS Strike Team, which is made up of six emergency medical personnel, an advanced life support transport ambulance, and a Mass Casualty Incident Trailer capable of treating more than
100 victims, departed the Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Service System (MIEMSS) office in Baltimore at approximately 4 a.m. Saturday morning. The Charles County strike team is a component of a larger, 30 member, 11 vehicle, task force authorized by Governor Martin OMalley to represent the State of Maryland.
Following a 27 hour drive, the Charles County Strike Team was assigned to a base camp located in Alexandria, Louisiana, and was immediately given the task of setting up a critical special needs shelter. Immediately following their completion of that mission the Strike Team returned to the camp to shelter themselves as Hurricane Gustav made landfall and passed very near to their location.
As of Tuesday, the strike team was awaiting further assignments from the Louisiana Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge.
The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is an inter-state mutual aid agreement signed by all 50 states that facilitates the delivery of mutual aid from one state to another in times of emergency or disaster. The EMAC agreement is also the vehicle the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) uses to ensure that those organizations providing mutual aid incur no expenses and are reimbursed by the Federal government for 100% of the cost of providing that aid.