LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A specialized team of personnel from the Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services was deployed as part of the state's organized response to Hurricane Dorian.
The unit, located at Fire Station 31 in Lawrenceville, left Gwinnett County and headed to Georgia's coast at 6 a.m. on Thursday.
As Dorian moved slowly up Georgia's coastline earlier this week, firefighter-paramedics readied medical equipment on the fire department's Mobile Ambulance Bus, known as MAB-II to assist in emergency efforts on Georgia's coast.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency requested the MAB-II unit, along with five highly-trained firefighter-paramedics due to disastrous potential of the hurricane, according to the Gwinnett County Fire Department.
Emergency management and public safety officials from Gwinnett also participated in National Weather Service briefings held at the County’s Emergency Operations Center as the storm intensified and threatened the Georgia coast.
The Gwinnett County Fire Department says that crews were equipped to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours with bottled water, trauma kits and meals-ready-to-eat (MREs) in tow.
Though there was minimal damage to Georgia's coast as Dorian swept through, the hurricane damaged much of the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas and killed at least 30 people.
"While we are grateful for the measure of safety we have in metro Atlanta from the effects of the hurricane, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all those in the storm’s path, including fire, emergency management and law enforcement personnel," Gwinnett County Fire Department spokesman Donald Strother said.
The crew with Fire Station 31 returned to Gwinnett late Thursday afternoon after spending part of the day staging at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.
Want more Lawrenceville news? Like us on Facebook.
***