EMS officials push security-override systems at gated communities

At about 9:23 p.m. April 7, emergency personnel were dispatched to Bluffton's Baynard Park to respond to a 62-year-old man suffering a massive heart attack.

Though Beaufort County Emergency Medical Services paramedics arrived at the neighborhood's security gate in about four minutes, they were held up for two to three minutes because they couldn't open the unmanned gate, according to a report provided by the county Friday afternoon. Responders arrived at the patient's home nearly nine minutes after leaving the station.

They took him to Hilton Head Hospital, where he died Saturday afternoon, his son, Matt Smith of Rock Hill, said.

In emergency medical situations, each minute counts, county emergency officials say.To prevent delays like the one that occurred that night, the county will consider new policies to make sure responders are not slowed down at unmanned gates, county administrator Gary Kubic said this week. The discussion is a result of the episode at Baynard Park, which Smith recounted at last week's Beaufort County Council meeting.

Kubic said Friday he would like to consider requiring gated communities to install override systems for emergency responders

"I didn't realize how many gated communities and codes we deal with," he said.

Beaufort County EMS covers an area that includes 32 unmanned gates with separate entry codes in Bluffton, Beaufort, Okatie and on St. Helena Island, according to a list provided Friday by Kubic.

"We need a more centralized process ... so we don't have to worry each time the code changes," he said.

He said he plans to have his staff research and review the issue in the coming weeks and that a proposed policy could come before the County Council for discussion in May.

OVERRIDE SYSTEMS ENCOURAGED

When the paramedics arrived at the Baynard Park security gate, they punched in the gate's code.

Nothing happened.

Before trying again, they had to wait 45 seconds because the system is set to freeze temporarily after failed attempts, according to the report.

When they did try again, the gate remained shut.

They were using a code listed in a book carried in their ambulance, according to the county report written by county EMS Director Rusty Hollingsworth.

Complicating matters were the instructions on the gate's keypad.

They read, "Press # key to start".

The paramedics did that before entering the code from their book, according to the report.

Pressing the # key wasn't necessary, officials later learned. It's purpose is to display a list of residents. It is not part of an emergency access code.

About a minute after the ambulance arrived at the gate, a Bluffton Township fire engine rolled up, fire officials and the report said. It was equipped with a device called a Knox-Box Rapid Entry System, which functions like a universal key, officials said this week.

Each first-responder vehicle in the district -- there are about 10 -- is fitted with a Knox key, Battalion Chief Todd Harvey said Thursday. The key keeps security gates open until the system is de-activated by fire personnel, he said.

But firefighters couldn't get into a security box where the Knox key was kept because of a blown fuse on the fire truck, Harvey said.

Luckily, Harvey had driven to Baynard Park in his own vehicle and was able to open the gate because he had another Knox key.

When firefighters, who routinely go to emergency medical calls, arrive at unmanned gates first, they use the keys to open the gates for ambulances, fire officials said this week.

When Beaufort County EMS arrives first, as it did at Baynard Park, paramedics must use the codes listed in their ambulances because they are not equipped with Knox keys. It is unclear why.

Gated neighborhoods in the Bluffton Township Fire District are required to install the Knox system, district fire prevention assistant Crystal DeRosia said Friday. The district covers Beaufort County south of the Broad River, but excludes Hilton Head and Daufuskie islands.

In Beaufort and Port Royal, gated neighborhoods are encouraged, but not required, to install Knox or similar emergency override systems, Lt. Daniel Byrne, fire marshal for the city of Beaufort, said Friday.

Byrne said he's aware of incidents similar to the one that occurred at Baynard Park in his departments.

"Once every now and again, we've had problems with gates and codes,"he said. "Because of instances like these, we encourage Knox" or other similar emergency override systems, he said.

He said the departments do not track how many gated neighborhoods use override systems.

A spokesman for Knox did not return a call Friday seeking comment.

Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue Division uses Knox as a backup system for its primary entry method: Click2Enter.

Fire & Rescue spokeswoman Joheida Fister said the island began using Click2Enter in March 2004. The systems uses a radio frequency to allow access.

"We went to Click2Enter because we have so many gates that our dispatch can't keep up with all the gate codes," Fister said. Punching in various codes "was not an acceptable way for us to have to access a neighborhood."

Fister said in a fax that the system allows emergency responders to get to incidents faster than other systems because it "can be activated without having to get out of a vehicle or punch in any code."

Nearly all of Hilton Head's gate neighborhoods -- 56 of them -- use the Click2Enter system, which generally costs between $1,200 and $1,500 to purchase and install, Fister said. About five do not have the system, she said.

As of January 2008, new gates installed on Hilton Head are required to have the Click2Enter system, she said.

Beaufort County Sheriff's Office vehicles also use this system on Hilton Head. Many existing gates were retrofitted voluntarily, Fister said.