Harford County Team Helps Recovery Efforts In North Carolina

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — An emergency response team from Harford County headed to North Carolina last week to help with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

Since Sept. 30, the team that included three Harford County Sheriff's Office deputies and one emergency planner from the Harford County Department of Emergency Services have been helping develop a recovery plan for Rutherford County.

"The area has faced extensive damage to its infrastructure, including power grids and water and sewer systems. When the Harford team arrived, they joined numerous rescue missions, working from mountaintops, rivers and various buildings to support local efforts. In two days, the Harford team helped establish a unified command at an emergency operations center, bringing together all relevant parties, including law enforcement, fire departments, search and rescue teams, National Guard representatives and local government officials, to streamline communication and coordination," the Harford County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook.

The deputies also collected supplies on their own time to take to North Carolina with them. Harford County Emergency Planner Dan McKinney, along with Major Eric Gonzalez, Senior Deputy TJ Jackson and Lieutenant Scott Blankenship from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office were the Harford County team deployed to North Carolina.

"The Harford team has overseen daily incident operations, guiding local officials through the processes for requesting resources and determining necessary supplies. The team has also engaged with community members seeking information on the restoration of power and water and sewer services, and other essential commodities needed for long-term recovery," the sheriff's office said.

“The Harford County team has been so vitally important to our recovery. I don’t think we could have done this without them,” added Kerry Giles, public information officer for Rutherford County. “They set structure, clarified roles within the EOC and lifted the burden off our own emergency management staff so they could deal with problems that were quickly arising. Their knowledge, understanding and experience have been invaluable.”