Grand Strand fire station continues rebuild nearly 5 months after Hurricane Ian

GARDEN CITY, S.C. (WMBF) - The Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire Station 2 was emptied out in September when Hurricane Ian flooded the building. However, FEMA has one final inspection this week and then remodeling can begin.

Hurricane Ian destroyed all the station’s appliances, knocked out electricity, drenched its drywall and ruined the floors.

Jeff Kosto, Deputy Fire Chief of the Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire Station, said this time around they are adding a few improvements to better protect the building from future storms.

“There’s a couple things we’re going to put in play to help mitigate in case there’s water in the building again where it can just be deconed and cleaned thoroughly. That building has not been remodeled since Hugo came in ‘89, so there’s a couple things we’re going to add on our own to help mitigate future instances where water would be up in the building,” said Kosto.

Crews are currently operating from the fire station’s headquarters about five minutes down the road. Kosto said while it can be cramped, he’s proud of the adjustments the team has made.

“We’ve got a great group of people and they moved in together like they were living together every day. They’ve been operating and putting in one hundred percent effort to make sure everything is completed and responses are proper so, it’s been good,” said Kosto.

After FEMA’S final inspection on Thursday, they’ll order supplies to remodel. Once those supplies come in, Kosto said it should only take about a month or so before the fire station is back up and running.

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