A JOINT EFFORT BY DEPARTMENTS TO ENDURE STORM & ITS AFTERMATH
(Access an online version of this story here: All Hands on Deck for Helene Response)
Simpsonville, S.C. — “It goes without saying that Helene was the most destructive storm that I have seen in our region,” Simpsonville Public Works Director Andy West said. “I have experienced ice storms, tornadoes and microbursts. This hurricane brought damage to the Upstate of South Carolina and Western North Carolina that is typically seen along coastal areas of the US.”
No one needs reminding that in the early hours of Sept. 27, Tropical Storm Helene began its tear through the Southeastern US, carving a path through Simpsonville and its neighboring municipalities that left roads littered with trees, houses with gaping holes, residents and businesses without power for weeks and communities shocked by the sheer lack of mercy that Helene had, only for the storm to cause even more destruction in North Carolina.
And least of all in need of reminding are the public works and safety crews of the City of Simpsonville.
West and Fire Chief Harold Nichols worked closely to coordinate resources and personnel in preparation for the storm as their crews always do when there is a forecast for inclement weather. But everyone knew this storm was different.
West and his leadership team met the Wednesday prior to the arrival of Helene on Friday morning to discuss their plan of action. On Thursday, the day before the storm, West, Fleet Supervisor Nick Delio,
Street Supervisor Chris Miles and Public Works crew members Will Bobo and Eyder Ruiz slept in Public Works offices as they often do before major weather events.
By 6:15 the morning Helene began wreaking havoc, all Public Works employees had reported to work with the first call for assistance from dispatch coming in less than 30 minutes later.
“There was a lot of destruction, chaos and challenges faced by city staff,” West said. “These challenges were met head on by the exemplary employees of the Simpsonville Fire Department, Police Department and Public Works.”
Shortly (and long) after Tropical Storm Helene left as quickly as it came, numbers and statistics and figures and dollar amounts bombarded the public to the point that no number made any sense any more. But it’s important to note the numbers that convey what city crews were up against.
Consider the number 45,572. Public Works crews alone hauled away 29,222 cubic yards of tree debris, while the city’s contractor hauled away 16,350 cubic yards. The exact total of 45,572 cubic yards could fill 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“All this was accomplished in three months due to the hard work of Public Works staff,” West said.
Another telling number to note is 200. Fire Chief Harold Nichols said the Simpsonville Fire Department responded to about 200 calls within an approximately 24-hour period of the Friday morning Helene hit to Saturday morning. For comparison, the Fire Department responded to 422 calls throughout the entire month of August, which means fire crews worked nearly 50 percent of all the previous month’s calls the day of Helene. Within 72 hours of Helene’s arrival, the Fire Department responded to more than 300 calls.
“This storm was so widespread that every community was overwhelmed, and no one could assist their neighbors,” Nichols said. “A valuable lesson we learned was to be overly prepared in the future. We had no idea we would have that much damage from a hurricane making landfall in Florida.”
To absorb the call volume on arrival day and through the weekend, the Fire Department personnel from two separate shifts worked together for three days straight.
Most of the calls were storm-related on top of the Fire Department’s normal call volume with the kinds of responses rendered daily.
“One challenge was the sheer number of calls coming in,” Nichols said, so administrative staff kept a list of calls into dispatch and sent crews to the next call based on priority. These priorities were life safety, property conservation and access.”
Numerous calls were for trees that had fallen on houses, causing a large amount of property damage but fortunately no major injuries.
“Tree damage was our greatest issue,” Nichols said.
Downed trees blocked roadways as well as the only access areas into some areas, making those locations inaccessible to emergency services.
“Our people and Public Works crews made access to every home in the city and our fire service area a top priority,” Nichols said.
Residents will remember (but likely want to forget) the loss of internet access and the amount of time many of them waited for it to be turned back on. Lost internet connectivity due to widespread power outages was also a challenge for public safety officials who greatly relied on the “Information Superhighway,” which, in a manner of speaking, was also closed by downed trees.
“We depend heavily on internet access for payroll and incident reporting,” Nichols said. “We didn’t realize how dependent we had become on internet access until we were without it for days.”
Team work and cooperation won the day everyday in the Helene response and recovery. A concerted effort of fire and public works crews ensured roadways and driveways were cleared of dangerous debris, while fire departments and other public safety crews from adjacent jurisdictions worked together, too.
“The fire service across Greenville County is fantastic at helping out their neighbors,” Nichols said. “We use automatic aid and mutual aid with each other daily.”
The Simpsonville Police Department also played a critical role in contending with Tropical Storm Helene, especially in the immediate response. Cpt. Timmie Williams said Simpsonville officers assisted with traffic control, including managing intersections with traffic lights out, directing motorists around downed trees and attending numerous vehicle accidents.
“We had officers also go to residences of the elderly to assist with generators,” Williams added. “Officers also had to deter kids from going into homes that had trees fall on them or were unoccupied or evacuated.”
The former Simpsonville Police Department building suffered its own damage during the storm just over a month before the Police Department moved operations and administrative offices to its new location in the Simpsonville Municipal Complex. Flooding in the basement damaged floors, baseboards, boxes and police uniforms. A tree fell on a portion of the new Fire Department headquarters and station 1 with minimal damage that was easily repaired.
Administration, or City Hall, has also played an important part in reviving the City in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene and making possible its recovery. All municipalities in Greenville County are entitled to reimbursement for the cost of Helene recovery to the cities from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
However, those reimbursements are possible only if the Finance Department and other staff at City Hall do their jobs. City Administrator Dianna Gracely led the overall management of the Helene recovery.
“The administrative staff have worked through the federal system to ensure the City’s reimbursement of costs associated with the storm damage,” Gracely said. “The Finance Department is making sure the residents of Simpsonville are not stuck with the bill.”
Keeping track and accounting for expenses and costs, maintaining required records and accurately completing the piles of federal paperwork are just a short summary of tasks done by Finance staff in partnership with other departments to make sure the City of Simpsonville and thereby the taxpayers are reimbursed for Helene response and cleanup.
Given the damaged taken on by the many parks in Simpsonville, the Simpsonville Parks & Recreation Department was also on hand for Tropical Storm Helene cleanup. Parks & Rec staff took care of all the parks, including Alder, College and Heritage parks. They took down fallen trees, trimmed limbs and hauled off debris from the storm. Parks & Recreation Director Robbie Davis said staff worked hard to get the parks back into shape so the public could return to them and enjoy their leisure time.
“Clearing downed trees and tree debris was the name of the game for Parks & Rec staff in terms of helping the City get back to normal,” said Davis, who has never seen a weather event like Helene in his nearly 30 years with the City. “Seeing the damage to the parks and flooding in Alder Park was tough, but my guys knew reopening the parks to help residents and visitors get back to normal was the top priority.”
Even after roadways were cleared of trees and power lines, Simpsonville crews continued cleanup, hence the more than 45,000 cubic yards of debris hauled off from Simpsonville city limits. Public Works completed the job in just over three months, which includes a time period in which crews resumed their normal duties and responsibilities alongside cleanup. But the way West puts it his guys did not make a big deal out of the extra work or treat themselves to fanfare or throw pity parties.
“When you have employees as dedicated as I do, a department head like me looks good, but it’s their hard work, dedication and commitment that get us through times like these, and they deserve that credit,” West said, adding his guys would never ask for nor take credit. “I never once heard any complaining about the extra work load. Keep in mind that most of the guys also had things at home they had to take care of like everyone else, especially during that first week of no power and long lines at gas pumps. They had a city and families to take care of.”
Gracely, who is set to retire in June, said all departments of the City came together in response to Tropical Storm Helene, from the Fire Department being first on scene to the Police Department maintaining order and safety during and after the storm to Public Works for clearing tree debris and opening up roadways to Parks & Recreation for rehabilitating the parks so that the public could enjoy them again.
“Work will continue for many months to come, including infrastructure repairs, building repairs and administrative efforts,” Gracely said. “It truly was a team effort that perfectly demonstrated how all departments work together to provide the best service to the residents and businesses of Simpsonville.”
West said overcoming the challenges presented by Tropical Storm Helene was a direct reflection of the leadership for the City of Simpsonville.
“Simpsonville residents are fortunate to have great leaders in Fire Chief Nichols, Police Chief Hanshaw, Director Davis and Administrator Gracely,” West said. “Watching the departments work together to pick a city up off its knees was one of the few bright spots that showed through the mass destruction.”
