About Us:

NHC Fire Rescue strives to provide our customers the absolute best fire and emergency mitigation. Our customers include both the citizens of New Hanover County and the visitors. We operate a combination fire protection system. This means we utilize a combination of full time career, part time, and volunteer staff. Our operation funds originate from a separate tax fund known as the Fire Tax. Currently this tax rate is 6 cent per one hundred dollars of property value. The funds collected through this tax are only used for fire protection. All operation expenses such as employee salaries, contracts with volunteer corporations, equipment purchases, new stations, and response come directly from this tax. Since 1997, when NHC Fire Rescue was created by New Hanover County government, the employees of NHC Fire Rescue working with staff in the volunteer corporations have worked diligently to reduce the ISO ratings for those areas. All of the six response districts except one have reduced their ratings. The final district, station 11 serving the Wrightsboro community, is currently working on reducing its rating. The direct benefit of reducing the ISO rating to our citizens is seen in large reductions in their home insurance rates. The reduction in insurance premiums can be as much as 0.00 per year or more. When you figure in the fact that most citizens pay less in fire tax than they receive in insurance premium reductions, the fire protection system in New Hanover County actually can put money back into the pockets of ourcustomers. Though we strive to keep the fire tax rate as low as possible, certain increases in fire protection services may require increases in that rate.

What We Do:

The fire protection system in New Hanover County does much more than simply extinguish fire. We respond to life threatening medical emergencies, such as heart attacks and strokes. We respond to technical rescue and hazardous materials. We also respond to all vehicle accidents for both first response medical treatment as well as incidents where patients must be extricated using hydraulic tools such as the Jaws of Life. In addition to day to day emergency responses, we have several programs that are designed to reduce injuries and loss due to fires, accidents, and code violations. A few examples of such programs are: Risk Watch, which is delivered through local schools, the Carolina Fire Crew, a group of singing and dancing firefighters delivering fire safety messages, and child seat and smoke detector installation programs. The old idea that firefighters just sit around the station waiting for a fire is not true. When not doing any of the above tasks, firefighters are preparing for the next emergency. Every business and fire hydrant in the unincorporated area of New Hanover County are visited and/or inspected at least twice per year. All equipment is maintained on a daily basis to keep it ready at a moments notice for the next emergency. Firefighters also train on job related tasks on a daily basis.