Bluffton Township Fire District, Hilton Head sending firefighters to help winter storm prep; Bluffton prepares if storm shifts

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTOC) - The Bluffton Township Fire District is making sure they are ready to go ahead of this potential winter storm.

This comes after the department responded to a record number of calls last year.

Over 11,000 emergency calls were made in the Bluffton area last year, a 4% increase from 2024.

A lot of those calls were medical emergencies, but they also put out their fair share of fires.

As of Thursday evening, Bluffton is out of the winter storm’s path.

So, Bluffton Township Fire District and Hilton Head Fire are sending firefighters to Spartanburg on Friday to help with the incoming storm.

Bluffton is sending at least seven people, but if the path changes, the department says they will still be ready.

“You prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Public Information Officer for Bluffton Township Fire District, Stephen Combs said.

In severe weather situations, the department says that first, they make sure their Emergency Operations Center is ready and staffed.

Then the focus shifts to having firefighters in place to respond.

“We’ll never go below our minimum levels of staffing to make sure we can meet the needs out there,” Combs said.

A staff that already responds to about 950 calls a month.

An uptick that is expected to continue as the Bluffton area grows.

However, some relief may be on the way in the form of a new fire station coming to Sun City later this year or in 2027.

“We’re very well-equipped to handle those calls,” Combs said. “We continue to follow the date and make sure those decisions are based on the date we are seeing and addressing the calls in the areas where they are most needed.”

Combs recommends that in the event of winter weather, people have at least three days’ worth of food and supplies ready to go and that their pets also have three days’ worth of supplies.