09/20/2026
🌊🚑🚒 COMING UP FOR AIR 🚒🚑🌊
On Friday, September 18th, Greer County EMS spent the day training for emergencies that we hope we never have to face—but need to be prepared for when they happen.
We started the morning at the Greer County EMS station with the classroom portion of “Coming Up for Air,” taught by George Lankford with Heartland Medical Direction. The course focused on drowning, water-related emergencies, rescue considerations, resuscitation, and the care of patients following a water emergency.
That afternoon, we took the training to Lake Lugert, where Greer County EMS partnered with Granite Fire Department for hands-on practice. Crews worked together in the water to practice reaching and removing victims, getting them safely to shore, transitioning from rescue to patient care, and providing resuscitation and emergency treatment.
For us, this kind of training matters.
We serve a very rural area where hunting, fishing, hiking, boating, camping, and other outdoor activities are part of everyday life. We also have bodies of water within and around the communities we serve, including Lake Lugert, where Granite Fire Department responds to emergencies within portions of its jurisdiction.
That is why we have been putting additional focus on outdoor and rural emergency training. Just recently, our crews completed Wilderness First Aid training, and this course gave us another opportunity to practice skills for emergencies that may happen far outside the controlled environment of an ambulance or hospital.
These situations also take teamwork. Fire may be responsible for getting someone out of an environment that EMS cannot safely access alone, while EMS must be ready to begin advanced patient care as soon as that patient reaches us. Training together before the emergency happens helps make that transition faster, safer, and more coordinated when every second matters.
We are incredibly proud of the people who continue to show up and train. Our crews work long hours, and days off are valuable. Yet they continue making time to improve their skills because they understand that being prepared is part of the responsibility that comes with serving our communities.
A huge thank you to George Lankford and Heartland Medical Direction for spending the day with us and providing another great training opportunity, and to Granite Fire Department for getting in the water with us and putting in the work.
We may never know what the next call will bring—but we can make sure we’re as prepared as possible when it comes. 🌊🚑🚒
