Photo By Sgt. Tim Andrews | U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers and civilian rescuers with the South Carolina...... read more read more
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GREENVILLE, SC -- U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers with the South Carolina National Guard and civilian rescuers with the South Carolina Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (SC-HART) rescued an injured hiker and two others Aug. 20, 2021, near Raven Cliff Falls in Caesar’s Head State Park, South Carolina.
The SC-HART is a group that consists of trained professional rescuers from the State Urban Search and Rescue Task Force (SC-TF1) and highly-trained pilots and crew members from the South Carolina National Guard. They form a highly capable and cohesive unit that can effectively carry out helicopter rescues using the UH-60 Black Hawk and LUH-72 Lakota helicopters. They are responsible for helping trapped or injured citizens in all hazardous conditions including hoist operations on land, in water, swift water or mountain rescues and can also provide ambulatory and non-ambulatory services.
Cedar Mountain Fire Rescue was initially called to assist the hikers August 19, but were unable to rescue the hikers due to inclement weather, the difficult terrain and the oncoming darkness.
“We got the call around 9 p.m. the previous night requesting our assistance,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Frank Wallace, South Carolina National Guard pilot for SC-HART. “We determined that, due to our crew, the terrain and the weather, we would not be able to conduct the rescue at that time. But the next morning, we took off at sunrise and met up with the other members of the team in Greenville.”
The team arrived on-site early the following morning and discussed a plan of action. Even though the team was at the site, they soon realized that it was going to be a challenging rescue.
“The winds were coming off the mountain tops creating a turbulence, and there was also some morning fog to deal with,” said Wallace. “The terrain had a lot of trees covering the slope and there was what looked like a sheer drop off near the rescue site. We surveyed the area from the air and came up with a plan to put the (medics) on the ground safely.”
According to Wallace, the foliage was so thick that it was difficult to see exactly where the hikers were.
“The only way we really knew exactly where they were is we saw an orange rope they had put up in a tree, and they started shaking the tree,” said Wallace.
After reaching the site, it took the SC-HART team about 45 minutes to complete the rescue. By 10 a.m., the injured hiker and two others had been hoisted from the heavily wooded, off-trail location near the falls.
This is the second rescue SC-HART was involved with this month. The rescue team also rescued two injured kayakers from the Chattooga River, August 1.
“This rescue was in really difficult terrain also,” said Wallace. “It was up in the same general area, and had triple vegetation. It would have been difficult to find them if the grid coordinates they gave us weren’t so accurate.”
SC-HART has been rescuing and assisting South Carolinians for many years now, and conducts regular training exercises to stay up-to-date with equipment, tactics, and medical treatment.
“All this week, we’ve been conducting training for just these types of events,” said Wallace. “We have a strong team that works and trains well together. Everybody knows their job, and does it when called upon. We have a willingness to go out there and do this. If people need help, everyone on this team has the mindset that we want to do whatever it is that needs to be done.”
The SC-HART training being conducted in August consisted of aerial, water-rescue training in conjunction with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. The event included a variety of training scenarios emphasizing survivor extractions from mountain slopes and tops in Pickens County, as well as aquatic rescue in the counties of Greenville and Oconee. Additionally, crews and rescuers performed refresher and proficiency training for the ongoing hurricane season.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2021 16:55 |
| Story ID: | 404059 |
| Location: | GREENVILLE, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 964 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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