Mutual Aid — Making Orange County Safer Together
By Matt Sullivan, SORS board member and former Chapel Hill Fire Chief
Collaborating for a safer Orange County
Mutual aid has taken on more importance in the community setting since natural disasters like Hurricane Helene and, most recently, Tropical Depression Chantal. For emergency response organizations like SORS, it was another major storm, 1996’s Hurricane Fran, that formalized mutual aid between fire, police and rescue services.
Before then, local public safety groups had informal arrangements to help each other out, but the storm revealed gaps in the system. Then-Governor Hunt empaneled a study commission to look at long-term recovery from the storm and recommend actions to improve readiness and response. Among the suggestions was a uniform agreement between North Carolina’s cities, counties and other organizations to support each other during and after disasters. The resulting agreement codified logistics, deployment, compensation and other issues.
“In the contemporary emergency services landscape, no single department possesses the full spectrum of resources and specialized personnel to independently manage every potential crisis,” notes Carrboro Fire Chief Will Potter. “Therefore, these alliances are not merely beneficial but are an absolute necessity for ensuring a high-quality, effective emergency response for our community. Strategic partnerships, such as our collaboration with SORS, serve as a critical force multiplier.”
For SORS, mutual aid takes many forms:
- On-scene medical care for emergency personnel
- Additional EMS coverage overnight and during disasters and other busy times
- Land and water search and rescue
- Workforce and career development
Effective emergency response necessitates mutual aid partnerships to create the fabric that covers our community in times of need. Let’s take a closer look.
On-scene medical care for emergency personnel
When local departments respond to emergency scenes, they may need medical assistance, too. In those cases, the SORS EMS division is deployed to care for firefighters, law enforcement and other responders. Our crew sets up what’s called a rehab station. We check vital signs, provide hydration and energy snacks, and set up misting fans to bring body temperatures down.
“The SORS Emergency Medical Techs ensure that over-worked and over-heated responders are not at medical risk from the exertion they have expended,” explains my former colleague Dan Jones, another retired Chapel Hill Fire Chief. “This service alone is invaluable and has restored many a responder so that they can return to work.”
SORS EMS volunteers deliver on-site care to local agencies during active situations. Photo by SORS Board Chair Fred Stipe
Additional EMS coverage
Our EMS volunteers also staff a basic life support ambulance to respond to calls overnight, every night. We’re also on call to support the local and county system in other circumstances. Additionally, we’re on site for many local community and sporting events, including Carolina football and basketball games.
Our EMS volunteers are at every football game. Come see us at Gates 2 & 6! Photo by SORS Treasurer Jacques Morin
“During periods of unpredictable call volume surges, SORS is often requested to staff additional ambulances,” explains Kim Woodward, Orange County Emergency Services EMS division chief. “Their crews frequently move into uncovered areas, ensuring that emergency coverage remains uninterrupted until call volume returns to normal levels. The partnership we share with SORS is seamless and the value they bring to Orange County is truly priceless. Their commitment ensures that our residents and visitors receive the highest level of care, no matter the circumstance.”
Land and water search-and-rescue
Our Technical Rescue Team volunteers are specially trained for land and water search-and-rescue operations, including high-angle and swift-water situations. ”SORS delivers essential search and rescue services by land and water,” notes Orange County Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders. “They have consistently provided quick and highly skilled assistance in nearly all our missing person cases over the last few years.”
The blue dots on this map show locations of more than 70 individual water rescues within 12 hours on July 6 and 7. Image courtesy Orange County Emergency Services
“When our firefighters run into unique challenges, we know we’re in good hands with the support of South Orange Rescue Squad,” notes Chapel Hill Deputy Chief Stacey Graves. “Most recently, during Tropical Depression Chantal, we received more than 70 water rescue calls in a short time. In the dark of night, SORS came with boats and extra hands, all to provide lifesaving support. Whether it’s a water rescue, a large fire or a search for a missing person, we know SORS will be right behind us, any time we call.”
In addition to our partnerships within Orange County, we also have agreements throughout the state. For example, we recently came together with the North Chatham Volunteer Fire Department to form a Type 2 Swiftwater Team to respond to emergencies on the Haw River and Jordan Lake, among other waterways. We also partner with these agencies, among others:
- Alamance Rescue Squad
- Ashe-Rand Rescue Squad
- Chatham County Emergency Management
- Henderson County Rescue Squad
- North Carolina Emergency Management
- North Carolina HART (Helo Aquatic Rescue Team)
- North Carolina Search and Rescue Advisory Council
- Wake K9
“These dedicated organizations come together during times of need to serve the citizens and visitors to our communities and we are proud to serve alongside them,” notes SORS Assistant Chief Josh Asbill, who leads the TRT.
Workforce and career development
While all these mutual aid programs are crucial, one aspect of our support is less obvious, but vitally important to maintaining and growing the county’s capacity for emergency response: workforce and career development. Our volunteers are highly trained and get valuable field experience staffing the overnight shift, providing services at community and sporting events and participating in other mutual aid activities mentioned above.
SORS is a workforce development engine for the community, offering its members valuable classes, simulations (like this one at Kenan Stadium) and field experience. Photo by SORS EMT and Secretary Reagan Fernandez.
“Many of the young SORS volunteers go on to become professional first responders and advanced medical personnel like nurses and physicians in our local communities,” Chief Jones says. “They use the skills and dedication to helping others that they learned at SORS in their lifelong careers.”
That’s important because recent studies verify the need for skilled medical personnel, particularly in emergency and rescue positions. Demand for EMS professionals rises annually, with a projected 19,000 openings a year for EMTs and paramedics nationally. That’s a growth rate of about 5%, which outpaces the overage for all occupations. Locally, demand for these professionals will increase as our population grows and ages. With climate change fueling more frequent and more disruptive weather events, we’re also going to need more EMTs to deliver care and more professionals trained in specialized search and rescue operations.
“The local presence of a professional organization like SORS is a significant strategic asset,” Chief Potter notes. “It provides a direct pipeline of qualified emergency response personnel, which fundamentally strengthens the operational readiness of our department and the capabilities of the entire region. The local experience these candidates gain is a critical component, ensuring they are prepared for the specific challenges and dynamics of our service area.”
Equipment donations
Sometimes we’re in a position to donate gear to support training. Chief Jones recalls that several years ago, SORS supported local fire departments by providing extrication services to remove trapped victims.
“The increasing chances of more than one accident simultaneously indicated the need for a second agency to be able to provide extrication if needed,” he says. “So SORS donated a lifesaving hydraulic rescue tool — known commonly as Jaws of Life — to the Chapel Hill Fire Department and provided the training on how to use it. This doubled the extrication capability in southern Orange County.”
We also donated a decommissioned emergency response vehicle to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools to use in their Career and Technical Education program’s firefighting and EMT training. The rig enables students to learn how to operate the vehicle and deliver services, preparing them for state certification and employment.
To give local students realistic training opportunities, SORS donated a decommissioned ambulance to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. Photos by SORS EMT Gabi Battaglini
‘Always prepared to serve’
“From my perspective, much of our work in public safety relies on strong collaborative relationships, as no single public safety agency can fulfill its mission in isolation. Success is contingent upon an integrated system of shared goals and responsibilities,” notes Orange County Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders. “In Orange County, we are privileged to have a longstanding partnership with the South Orange Rescue Squad, which has provided invaluable support to our community and collective response system for over 50 years, both day and night. The South Orange Rescue Squad is a vital response partner within our extensive public safety network, not only in our community but throughout the state. To say that Orange County is fortunate to have their service would be an understatement; I’m not certain we could achieve our objectives without them.”
Our motto, “Semper Aptus Muneris,” means “always prepared to serve.” We’re proud to be able to serve Orange County, whether that’s with direct services to community members in need or mutual aid and workforce support for our partner agencies.
Donations from people like you help us stay ready!
Featured image by SORS EMT Gabi Battaglini. Matt Sullivan is a current member of the SORS board of directors and formerly held leadership positions in the Chapel Hill Fire and Police Departments. Margot Lester is a SORS volunteer.
The South Orange Dispatch is a monthly column on Chapelboro by the South Orange Rescue Squad: an all volunteer, 501c3 non-profit providing EMS and technical rescue services in the Carrboro-Chapel Hill area of Orange County since 1971.
