Bluffton firefighters to evacuate four stations

Bluffton firefighters at certain stations will begin to evacuate starting at 8 a.m. on Friday morning in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew.

The Moss Creek and Spring Island stations will evacuate due to potential flooding concerns and firefighters will be taking all of their equipment with them to the University of South Carolina Beaufort, Capt. Randy Hunter said on Thursday.

“We are just preparing to make sure everyone knows their place and how it happens when their time comes,” Hunter said.

Firefighters from those stations will be largely inactive once they reach USCB since they will be further away, Hunter said. The Colleton River and Palmetto Bluff stations have already left for USCB.

“For us, we’ve always had the contingency plans of doing that,” he said.

If the hurricane were to reach a “catastrophic” level, Hunter said the entire fire district would leave for Allendale. However, firefighters have not yet reached that point.

“If the fire district is making their plans to leave, we are hoping that our community is,” Hunter said.

Firefighters spent Thursday getting gas for all of the district’s vehicles and boats. They were dispatched on few calls due to the number of residents who have already evacuated.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Bluffton firefighters to evacuate four stations."