Public Safety

The Town of Kiawah is responsible for the public safety, health, and welfare of its residents and guests—the Town contracts with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office for off-duty deputy police coverage every day from 4 p.m. - 8 a.m. In partnership with the CCSO, the off-duty deputies work with the Town's Public Safety Director.

In the event of an emergency, Call 9-1-1, or if you notice any suspicious activity, call the non-emergency number at 843-743-7200. Deputies patrol the entire Island, including the beach, and enforce uniform traffic violations. Their presence on the Island helps to deter criminal activity and helps to maintain a safe community for residents, employees, and visitors.

911 Emergency Service
The Charleston County Consolidated 911 Center is the central location for emergency dispatch for the County and Charleston County sheriff’s Deputy, providing police protection for Kiawah Island.

Fire Protection
The St. Johns Fire District provides fire protection to Kiawah Island, minimizing the risk to the community through education and prevention and for all risks which are uncontrollable. Suppression will be utilized for mitigation. The St. John’s Fire District has allocated its suppression resources based on geographic locations in an effort to provide an adequate response to areas of each island. Kiawah Island comprises District Four.

Smoke Alarm & Fire Education Program (SAFE)
St Johns offers free smoke alarm installations, home safety surveys, and address numbering for all residents in the St. John’s Fire District.  The program is conducted on the first and third Saturday of each month for two hours. During this time, firefighters from all seven stations in the St. Johns Fire District go door-to-door in selected areas to offer residential smoke alarm checks and installation, smoke alarm battery installation, home safety surveys, and will install address numbers on residential homes and mailboxes if needed. To request service, call  843-768-4770

Code Enforcement
Our staff enforces all Municipal Ordinances and is empowered to issue court summon for their violations. In addition, they act as Public Safety Officers and work in cooperation with all island agencies, including Fire, Police, Solid Waste, and Beach Services. Ordinances cover areas such as; noise, trash collection, beach regulations, business licensing, and permitting.

Air Medical Transport
In 2016, the Town established an agreement with Meducare Air, giving each Kiawah Island resident a county-wide limited membership, covering the cost of emergency air medical transport. Meducare Air is a participating provider in the AirMedCare Network, the largest air ambulance membership network in the United States. AirMedCare Network participating providers have more than 320 air medical bases across 38 states, providing air ambulance services for residents who suffer a life-threatening illness or injury.


Resident Defined:

Any individual who owns a home on the island, regardless of whether it is their primary residence, would be considered a “resident” and eligible for coverage under the Town’s plan.  Coverage also applies to renters, provided that it is their primary residence.

So what does this mean for residents? If an insured Kiawah Island resident is flown by Meducare Air or any AirMedCare Network participating provider for a life-threatening emergency from within Charleston County, the cost of the transport not covered by their insurance provider will be covered under the Town Agreement. If the resident transported is uninsured at the time of transport, Med-Trans Corporation will bill the uninsured person at the “Medicare Allowable Rate” for the transport.

As an optional benefit of the Town’s agreement, Kiawah Island residents may take advantage of upgrading to a full AirMedCare Network Membership to gain full coverage with no pickup location or insurance coverage restrictions across a 32-state service area at a discounted rate of $35 annually for the entire household.

The informational flyer on full membership details is available here, and their coverage area map is available here.

For questions about membership in the AirMedCare Network program, please call 800-793-0010 or visit www.airmedcarenetwork.com. Locally, AirMedCare Network Membership Manager Wes McAden can be reached at 843-708-6192 or Wes.McAden@gmr.net