Horry County EMS took 27 minutes to respond to a 911 call this week due to road closures on Enterprise Road.
Fire officials say that is about three times the average response time in Horry County.
The ambulance drivers told their supervisors they had no idea they could not get through the road even though it has been closed for half a month.
“They chose their route, and they chose wrong,” said Scott Thompson.
Thompson is the interim Fire Chief for Horry County Fire Rescue.
He says the two responders should have known the road was closed.
He says the information would have been provided by their superiors, as well as through GPS in the ambulance.
“Horry County “GIS”, they indicated that that road was closed,” said Thompson.
The responding station was off Scipio Lane near Surfside Beach and the Burgess community.
The detoured route to avoid the Enterprise Road closure is actually more convenient than the way the driver went.
“From Enterprise Road from 707 is a more direct route to the Waccatee Zoo, but the thought process was new driver doesn’t know the area as well and there is a lot of construction take the road with the least amount of turns, as it turns out that was not a good decision,” said Thompson.
He says the call, which was for a fracture caused by one of the zoo animals, was not a life threatening emergency and the first responders knew that beforehand.
“It could potential be more catastrophic,” said Thompson.
He says luckily in this case it was not.
Thompson says Fire Rescue has already re-issued its protocol for road closures and discussed the issues with the drivers.
“We pride ourselves on good response and giving good customer service and if we don’t we reevaluate what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and we try to make corrections,” said Thompson.
The person who made the 911 call tells News 13 this is a big issue with Enterprise Road being closed to all through traffic.
The construction closed about 8 miles of that road.
SCDOT officials say it will not reopen until June.
