Law enforcement, EMS prepare for July 4

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is preparing for one of the busiest weekends of the year on Masonboro Island.

While they are bringing in more patrols than ever, deputies are also training with fire, EMS, the Coast Guard and Wrightsville Beach police for an emergency airlift.

This is just a practice airlift, but it’s not an uncommon emergency on July 4 according to  Lt. Jerry Brewer.

“Last year we had a boy who had drank so much that he coded twice on the way to the hospital,” Brewer said.

That’s why New Hanover Regional Medical Center EMS Battalion Chief Aaron Kasulis said they are practicing the airlift for that life threatening scenario.

“We want to be prepared for that,” Kasulis said.

First, someone called 911. It took the NHRMC AirLink helicopter six and a half minutes to respond to the call. Once the heavily intoxicated 21-year-old was put into the helicopter, it took four minutes to get him to the hospital. For now, Brewer says this is all just practice.

“To see what we did wrong and see what we could do right is really going to help out,” Brewer said.

That’s not all. Brewer said the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve is paying the Sheriff’s Office to have more deputies patrolling the island on July 4.

“To make sure that everybody is having a good time and not going overboard with the alcohol,” Brewer said.

As 3,000 people head to Masonboro Island to have a good time this weekend, Kasulis said they want this scenario to remain a training scenario.

“Hopefully, we’ll never have to use it,” Kasulis said.

Brewer also said they usually give out the most citations every year for underage consumption. He said they will have 30 deputies on Masonboro Island Saturday and three boats in the water. He said they will also be patrolling Mason’s Inlet.