In Charleston, SC, we unfortunately get our fair share of flooding, tropical storms and hurricanes. An example of this was Sept. 22, 1989, when Hurricane Hugo made direct landfall in the city. It was the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in the previous 20 years, with winds of 190 mph and more than $7 billion in damage inflicted.
I was nine years old when Hurricane Hugo hit. My Dad, Mom, brother and I hid in the single bathroom of our 1,150-sq.-ft. home. We could hear trees falling and windows breaking and felt the house shake. My Dad had his weather radio on, and he assured us that he would protect us.
When the sun rose, we ventured outside to see the devastation. It was unbelievable. That said, I didn’t understand the severity of the storm nor the impact that it had on local municipalities. Why am I writing about this storm that happened 35 years ago? At nine years old, I was just a kid who had a few weeks off from school because of a hurricane. Now, when these storms hit, I’m thankful to be a part of a collaborative city to help to protect today’s nine year olds and all of the other community members who are out there.
Well-prepared teams
During Hurricane Debby in August 2024, I was given the opportunity to be the incident commander (IC) in the Municipal Emergency Operations Center (MEOC) for one of the 12-hour night operational periods. Interestingly enough, the IC for Hurricane Hugo also worked in the MEOC. How cool is that? To say that I was honored is an understatement. It meant something deeper to me than being the IC. I was in a room with so many great team members from the city of Charleston, including the fire department, police department, stormwater, streets and sidewalks, information technology, planning, preservation, engineering, public works, parks, budget, clerk of council and the mayor’s office, all collaborating for a successful response and recovery. The U.S. Coast Guard even came to assist in the MEOC.
Thanks to one of our three deputy chiefs who oversees emergency management, city leaders started to meet four days before the storm’s expected landfall in our area. Also, our command staff already was in the process of improving a response plan that we utilized over the previous few years where we were impacted by tropical storms/hurricanes. Furthermore, there already was a systematic approach for boarding up stations, relocating stations, MEOC positions, birthing and food, if necessary.
Our mayor instituted a curfew to keep our citizens and visitors safe because of the forecast for
more than 30 inches of rain and high winds. Be-
cause our city can flood during a normal thunderstorm, 30 inches of rain would be devastating.
As the curfew went into effect, team members from the police department who were in the MEOC directed the police officers who were on the streets to close the city with barricades. As they did this, more rain started to fall.
We turned our attention to the pumps that our stormwater team placed to help to disperse the water out of the city. (Before this, the stormwater team ensured that all of the storm drains were clear of debris, so the rainwater could drain. Our firefighters even helped with clearing storm drains.)
IT team members monitored the camera feeds for the city, so others of us could continue to check on the flood-prone areas.
The planning division worked diligently to prepare the incident action plan. It was a quiet and focused work effort throughout the night operational period.
On the fire department side, we placed four high-water vehicles and two utility vehicles in service in addition to the 17 engines, 5 ladders, 1 rescue, 1 tender, 1 air truck, 1 hazmat unit and 4 battalion chiefs. We upstaffed our battalion chiefs with an aid and placed a battalion chief, the special operations assistant chief, the battalion chief of communications and other special operations personnel at central station to manage all water rescue assets. Two military high-water vehicles arrived to assist. We requested a Type 1 boat team from the South Carolina EOC and two National Guard high-water vehicles as well. We even had a passenger van to drive high-water rescues to a safe location. Fire marshal personnel worked both of these details.
We were well prepared, and the members of our teams were ready to roll if/when the conditions called for it.
Maintaining the curfew
As the night passed, thankfully, the rain didn’t come as projected. However, at about 6 a.m., some citizens started to venture out. Around that time, we were hit with a few bands of rain. We had numerous calls for vehicle rescues over the next few hours. Between the police department and the fire department, our folks responded to these rescues with the professionalism and technical knowledge in which they are so well versed.
The rain continued throughout the day, and, fortunately, the curfew stayed in place. In my opinion, the curfew saved lives and property. If a tropical storm is bearing down on you with a possibility of 30 inches of rain and high winds, why would anyone need or want to go outside? All it does is create problems. It’s safer for everyone to stay indoors and let the storm pass. The curfew ensured this. That’s called leadership. Difficult decisions in difficult situations for the betterment of everyone. Period.
It isn’t about you
My point of all of what I explain above is to ensure that you as a leader understand and embrace the importance of collaboration between municipal departments. No one department is more special than the other.
All of us in the MEOC and on the streets made the city a safer Charleston by doing our part in our respective department.
As a leader, you must remember that it isn’t about you. The decisions that you make affect the lives of those who work with you and those who you protect.
I’m proud to work for a city that has such great collaboration and leadership. I have 20 years in our department, and I’ve lived in Charleston my entire 44 years of life. With more than 30 tropical storms, tropical depressions and/or hurricanes under my belt, I have good and bad experiences to share. However, the collaboration for Hurricane Debby was one of the best-coordinated, best-planned storm responses I’ve been a part of—all because of leadership, collaboration and great team members in our city who go above and beyond their normal work to ensure success.
About the Author
Dr. David Griffin
Dr. David Griffin is the assistant chief of administration in Charleston, SC. He was the operator of the first-due engine on June 18, 2007, when nine of his fellow firefighters perished. Griffin has come through the ranks in operations in every uniformed position, from firefighter to battalion chief and shift commander to his current position, during his 19-year career in Charleston. He has a bachelor's degree in education from The Citadel, a master's degree in executive fire service leadership, and a doctorate of education in organizational leadership and development. Griffin is the author of "In Honor of The Charleston 9: A Study of Change Following Tragedy," among three other books. He is an international speaker and instructor, a certified Chief Fire Officer and Chief Training Officer with The Center for Public Safety Excellence, an IFSAC/Pro Board-certified Fire Officer IV and a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program from the National Fire Academy. He is a graduate of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Executive Education program: Senior Executives in State and Local Government and of the Psychology of Leadership program at Cornell University's SC Johnson College of Business. Griffin is the owner of On A Mission, LLC, at drdavidgriffin.com.
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