NHC Fire Rescue Community Risk Assessment Standards of Cover

Community Risk Assessment-
Standards of Cover

2021

Introduction

The fire service continues to be challenged with delivering
the most efficient and valuable service to its community all
while addressing the needs of the community. The Center
for Public Safety Excellence has developed a framework
for a Community Risk Assessment-Standard of Cover (CRA-
SOC) to assist agencies in identifying their community risk
and how the agency is positioned to respond to those
risks. This process provides the department with a frame-
work to assess the risks in the community and tailor its
services to align with the community needs.

The following document serves as an
analysis of the community identifying
and assessing the risks. It also serves as a
primary deployment planning and resource
allocation tool to allocate effective and
efficient distribution and concentration of
resources to respond and mitigate to
those identified risks.

The development of this document
followed the framework of the 10th
edition CFAI Accreditation model.
This framework allows the agency to
evaluate the community needs, community
risks, complexity of the community and
operational efficiency with the goal of
delivering the right service at the right
time all while providing excellent
public safety and emergency services.

2 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Contents 3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Documentation of Agency Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Community Description and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
County Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Mission, Vision, and Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
New Hanover County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Fire Rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Department Overview and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Legal and Financial Basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Service Boundaries and Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Natural Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Topography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Physiography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Human and Human-Related Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Economics and Socioeconomics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Human Made Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Housing Affordability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Service Type Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Transportation Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Safety Remediation Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Critical Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Planning Zones and Planning Zone Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Planning Zone 11 Castle Hayne & 11 Wrightsboro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Planning Zone 12 421 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Planning Zone 13 Castle Hayne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Planning Zone 14 Porters Neck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Planning Zone 16 Gateway, Gordon Road & Ogden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Planning Zone 17 Gateway, Gordon Road & Murrayville . . . . . . . . . . 38
Planning Zone 18 Monkey Junction & Veterans Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Planning Zone 19 Snows Cut & Veterans Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Description of Agency Programs and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Services Provided . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Community Risk Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Public Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Fire Investigation, Origin, Cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Domestic Preparedness, Planning, and Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Fire Suppression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Emergency Medical Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Technical Rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Hazardous Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Station Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Resources and Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Organizational Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Professional Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Support Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Administration and Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Service Demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

All-Hazard Risk Assessment of the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Risk Assessment Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Three-Axis Heron Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Priority Risk Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Water Supply and Needed Fire Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Structure Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Wildfire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Fire Risk Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Emergency Medical Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Emergency Medical Services Risk Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Technical Rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Technical Rescue Risk Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Hazardous Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Hazardous Materials Risk Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Disaster Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Excessive Heat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Hurricane and Coastal Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Tornadoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Severe Storms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Severe Winter Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Earthquakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Geological Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Dam Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Flooding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Infectious Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Radiological Emergency – Fixed Nuclear Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Terrorism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Disaster Hazard Risk Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Community Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

4 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Program Goals and Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Deployment Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Critical Task Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Baseline Performance and Benchmark Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Fire Performance Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Emergency Medical Services Performance Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Technical Rescue Performance Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Hazardous Materials Performance Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Incident Data and Outliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Response Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Resiliency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Absorption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Restoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Evaluation of Current Deployment and Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Performance Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Performance Gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Plan for Maintaining and Improving Response Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Performance Improvement Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Correlation of CRA/SOC to Accreditation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 5

Executive Summary

New Hanover County is coastal community in southeastern North Carolina where the community, elected
officials and county staff cooperate to balance a high quality of life with a progressive business and eco-
nomic climate. Tourism, film production, the service and retail sectors are the engines that power the local
economy. At less than 200 square miles, New Hanover County is the second smallest in land area of the 100
North Carolina counties; however, it is one of the state’s ten most populous counties. Not only has the coun-
ty grown 16% since the last census but New Hanover County is one of the fastest growing counties in the
state with an expected growth rate of 66% by 2040. With the projected population growth rates, the county
identified the need for a land development plan. In 2016, the county adopted a Comprehensive Plan, Plan
NHC, to serve as a guide for economic development and land use for the next 25 years. Even with proactive
planning, New Hanover County continues to face challenges with traffic and affordable housing.

To evaluate these characteristics of the community at a higher level of detail, the agency created 15 planning
zones based off response districts and NHC Planning’s complete communities. Data such as demographics,
incident response, and response times was collected for these fifteen zones to provide insights into the
occurrences and risks in these zones.

New Hanover County Fire Rescue (NHCFR) serves the unincorporated areas of New Hanover County provid-
ing a wide range of emergency services to the community through eight fire stations located strategically
throughout the unincorporated area of the county. Emergency services incidents are processed and dis-
patched through the New Hanover County Public Safety Communications Center utilizing Emergency Fire
Dispatch and Emergency Medical Dispatch. Daily, NHCFR staffs 8 engines, 2 trucks, 1 rescue, and 1 com-
mand vehicle with an additional command vehicle staffed during daytime hours. Additional units are cross
staffed as needed for incidents. In addition to all hazard response, NHCFR also provides community risk
reduction, public education, fire investigations, and domestic preparedness, planning, and response.

To determine the type and level of services needed in New Hanover County, the agency has identified and
evaluated the numbers, types, and magnitudes of risks. Utilizing the three axis-heron model for emergency
risks and the priority risk index for disaster risks, the agency categorized incidents and disasters into catego-
ries of low, moderate, high, and maximum risk.

Community feedback was also utilized to understand community expectations about the type and level of
service as well as to shape the goals and objective of the strategic plan. The goals and objectives of the stra-
tegic plan shape the direction and continuous improvement of each service or program area that is provid-
ed.

Deployment of initial resource to mitigate these risks is based off a five-mile station district and five-minute
travel time model. The use of automatic vehicle location (AVL) and preprogrammed response zones ensures
that the closest unit is dispatched to an incident. The need for additional units to mitigate a risk or incident
was determined utilizing a critical task analysis. The critical task analysis identifies the critical tasks neces-
sary to mitigate the risk as well as the number of firefighters needed to complete those tasks. This number
of personnel determines the number of resources to be dispatched for the effective response force.

As a process of continuous improvement, the performance of the response delivery system is evaluated
utilizing baseline performance, benchmarks, identifying performance gaps, and developing plans to close
those gaps. Baseline performance for total response time was identified for all risk level categories to in-
clude first unit and effective response force performance. Further analysis of the time segments that consti-
tute the total response time (alarm handling time, turnout time, and travel time) assists in providing addi-
tional insight into areas that would benefit from a continuous improvement plan. Additional analysis of the
performance of the total response delivery system includes evaluating resiliency processes such as resis-
tance, absorption, and restoration to ensure that the agency can provide consistent and reliable service. The
ultimate evaluation of the response delivery performance is the impact on outcomes. Evaluating outcomes
such as dollar loss and saved at a structure fire, cardiac arrest saves, and structure fire flame spread aid the
agency in identifying the impacts of the continuous improvement efforts.

Benchmark statements for all risk level categories were established. These benchmarks will serve as a goal
to continually work towards to improve the response delivery system. To monitor performance and efforts

6 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

towards improvement, processes and methodology have been established. Monthly reporting and evalua-
tion of performance as well as a more detailed quarterly meeting which will include strategic plan progress,
reviewing performance, reviewing program areas, and evaluating changing conditions will continue.

Through evaluation of the performance gaps, the agency has identified plans for improvement that include
strategic plan implementation, total response time improvements, ten-year station plan, staffing plan, and a
continuous improvement strategy. Since the strategic plan is closely aligned with this document, implemen-
tation of the goals and objectives of the strategic plan will directly impact the improvement of the response
delivery system. Total response time improvements include specific improvements centered around alarm
handling time, turnout time, and travel time. Alarm handling time improvements include participation in
the Dispatch Review Committee, automated dispatch, Automated Secure Alarm Protocol, future CAD re-
placement, and assessing future needs for CAD-to-CAD integration. Turn out time improvements include
a turnout time work group, improvements to fire station alerting, upgrades to apparatus routers, auto en
route/auto arrival, and fire station design. Travel time improvements include coordinating with the planning
department for future road network design, traffic light pre-emption, increasing AVL miles, and implement-
ing auto en route/auto arrival. The ten-year station plan and the staffing plan are tools to guide the needs
for stations and staffing in the future. These plans will be monitored and adjusted periodically to reflect the
current environment. Lastly, a continuous improvement strategy will implement processes that will allow for
evaluating performance and progress toward achieving the agency’s goals.

As a model of good governance, the agency prioritizes planning, measuring, and strategically investing in
the future of the community. New Hanover County Fire Rescue is continually moving forward and making
improvements to ensure we are all safe, healthy, and secure.

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 7

Documentation of Agency Characteristics

Community Description and History

New Hanover, a coastal county in southeastern North Carolina, is home to four incorporated municipalities:
Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach as well as an unincorporated area (Figure
1). The county’s total land area totals approximately 192 square miles. The unincorporated area of the coun-
ty represents approximately 136 square miles. The surrounding terrain is low lying, with an average eleva-
tion of less than 40 feet. The highest elevation is approximately 75 feet.

New Hanover County is the second smallest county in North Carolina but one of the most densely populat-
ed counties in the state. In 2020, New Hanover County’s population was 225,702, making it the 11th most
populous county in North Carolina. According to the 2020 census the county’s population is 75% white, 12%
Black, 7.6% Hispanic, and 1.5% Asian.

Established in 1729, New Hanover County was formed from Craven County, one of the three original coun-
ties in North Carolina. The city of Wilmington followed, founded in the late 1730s. When New Hanover Coun-
ty was originally established, it encompassed several surrounding counties. From 1734-1875, the land was
divided to create the surrounding counties of Onslow, Bladen, Duplin, Brunswick, and Pender. New Hanover
County has retained the same boundaries since 1875.

When Europeans colonized coastal southeastern North Carolina – at both Brunswick Town in present-day
Brunswick County in the 1720s and then what became Wilmington in the 1730s -- they brought enslaved
people to the region. Enslaved people made up the majority of the county’s population in most of the ante-
bellum period. As its land was developed into plantations, slavery was a driving force in the county.

Beginning in the colonial period, longleaf pine trees were the bed rock of the region’s economy. The re-
gion’s naval stores industry and lumber industry exploited the area’s longleaf pine trees. The county was
also home to thriving small and large agricultural landholdings, where a range of crops were grown. With
a mixed and complex economy, the county and the city of Wilmington became an economic engine for the
region and the state. Wilmington was a thriving urban commercial place in a rural state. The prosperity
continued throughout that late 1700s and early 1800s. The City of Wilmington quickly became the largest
city in the state in the 1830s and remained so until the early 20th century. The prosperity of this commercial
hub was due in part to a railroad line completed in 1840 that linked the town of Wilmington all the way to
Raleigh, the state capital.

Since Wilmington was one of the most important port
cities in the country throughout the 1800s, it made it a
vulnerable point of contention when the Civil War arrived.
The port was strategically important as it served as an
entry point for most of the goods for the Confederate
states, and as a result, Wilmington became a heated des-
tination during the war years. For the majority of the Civil
War, Wilmington was held by the Confederate states, and
was even one of the most popular destinations for Block-
ade runners, but the town eventually fell to Union troops
in 1865 after the Fall of Fort Fisher. The fall of Wilmington
ultimately represented the fall of the South, as the war
ended just months after Wilmington was captured.

After the Civil War, Emancipation altered economic, so-
cial, and political relationships. The city was home to Black craftspeople, educators, journalists, and entre-
preneurs who helped make this city of place of possibility for people of color. These relatively good econom-
ic and political prospects for African Americans and the large Black population as well as the importance
of the city helped make Wilmington a target of the state’s 1898 White Supremacy campaign. In November
1898, the Wilmington massacre and coup took place. An unknowable number of African Americans were
killed by a white supremacist mob, and local government officials were forced to resign their posts.

8 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

In the wake of these events, Democrats took charge of the city, and of the state’s government, and African
Americans were disenfranchised. For much of the 20th century, legally sanctioned race-based segregation
shaped North Carolina and New Hanover County. Before World War II, racially restrictive covenants created
segregated housing in new suburbs. After World War II, as the region’s population grew both within and out-
side of the city’s limits, federal policies and local custom continued to support residential segregation. The
county’s schools were segregated into the late 1960s. Local city and county government remained all-white
until the 1970s.

During World War II, shipbuilding flourished. The North Carolina Shipbuilding Company became quite prom-
inent during the 1940s, and the State Port Authority was approved in 1945 and has remained a major factor
in the region’s economy ever since. After World War II, especially after 1960, the region’s economy changed
significantly, moving away from manufacturing and transportation sector jobs towards a more service and
tourist-oriented economy.

In the latter half of the 20th century, Wilmington enjoyed a new boost of commerce through tourism. The
county’s beaches provide visitors miles of unspoiled natural beauty and are the area’s most popular tourist
attractions. When Interstate 40 opened in 1990, visitors from Raleigh and other parts of the state started to
become the backbone of Wilmington’s local industries.

The Wilmington area also garnered the
attention of Hollywood during the latter
part of the 20th century. Beginning as a
fledgling film industry, the industry has
grown with more than 138 movies and 162
television productions being filmed at both
natural outdoor settings and at the EUE
Screen Gem Studios – the largest movie
studio east of Hollywood.

Today, the population of New Hanover
County is almost equally distributed be-
tween the City of Wilmington and the unin-
corporated areas. New Hanover County is a
mix of general residential, rural residential,
commerce zones, employment centers, ur-
ban mixed use, community mixed use, and
conservation. There is a broad base of in-
dustries including fintech, distribution and
logistics, food processing, aviation, phar-
ma/contract research organizations, film,
call centers/customer contact center/back
office, craft beer, and advanced manufac-
turing. The North Carolina State Port links
these industries with world markets while
the Wilmington International Airport links
business and recreational travelers with the
area. The top employers in New Hanover
County are New Hanover Regional Medical
Center, the county’s schools, the University
of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW),
and PPD. UNCW, a major research universi-
ty, as well as Cape Fear Community College
help grow and support these employers
with higher education and workforce devel-
opment.

Figure 1 Map of New Hanover County and surrounding jurisdictions

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 9

Figure 2 New Hanover County Organizational Chart

County Leadership

New Hanover County is governed by a Board of Commissioners. The five County Commissioners are elected
at large by a county-wide election held in November for a staggered four-year term of office, with elections
held every two years. The board is charged with making policy for the administration of county government
within the framework of the laws of the State of North Carolina. The board is responsible for providing and
executing policies concerning the operation of the county, enacting local ordinances, regulating land use
and zoning in the unincorporated areas, and appointing citizens to various board and advisory commis-
sions. The board is also responsible for adopting the annual budget which includes establishing the tax rate.
The county manager serves as the chief administrator of county government and maintains responsibility
for administering all departments under the general control of the Board of Commissioners. The Sheriff and
Register of Deeds are not under the purview of the county manager because they are elected officials. The
county manager is responsible for development of the annual budget, aligning the operations of the county
to the adopted strategic plan and advancing the county’s mission and vision through five key focus areas:
superior education and workforce, superior public health and safety, intelligent growth and economic devel-
opment, strong financial performance, and effective county management.
The county manager is supported by a deputy county manager and two assistant county managers. Fire
Rescue reports to the deputy county manager.

10 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Mission, Vision, and Values

New Hanover County

Mission
New Hanover County is committed to providing equitable opportunities and exceptional public
services through good governance to ensure a safe, healthy, secure and thriving community for all.

Vision
A vibrant, prosperous, diverse coastal community committed to

building a sustainable future for future generations.
Shared Values

Professionalism, Equity, Integrity, Innovation, Stewardship, Accountability

Fire Rescue

Mission

To protect life and property through risk reduction and
effective response to ensure a safer community.

Vision

A progressive, innovative, and dynamic fire rescue department
committed to excellence for generations to come.

Shared Values

Professionalism, Equity, Integrity, Innovation, Stewardship, Accountability

Department Overview and History

The first fire protection in the unincorporated areas of the county was provided by the City of Wilmington. In
1950, the city notified the County Board of Commissioners that they would no longer be able to provide fire
protection outside of the city limits. This was the beginning of the development of the volunteer fire depart-
ments in New Hanover County. By 1952, the Board of Commissioners adopted a county wide fire protection
program which outlined the contracts with the rural volunteer fire departments and the development of
the Fire Inspection Committee that would later become the Fire Commission. Through the early 1950’s the
volunteer fire departments were created including Wrightsboro, Winter Park, Ogden, Myrtle Grove, Seagate,
Maffitt Village, Fort Fisher and South Wilmington.

In the 1970’s, the Board of Commissioners provided firefighters and apparatus at the airport as well as
approved Federal Point as another volunteer fire department. Soon after in January of 1986, the County
Board of Commissioners established the New Hanover County Fire Service District which laid the founda-
tion for a tax to fund the volunteer fire departments through contracts for service. As the city continued to
annex into the county, South Wilmington was forced to move to 421 and was renamed North Wilmington in
1987. North Wilmington’s contract with the county was canceled in 1993 and Winter Park and Wrightsboro
began providing fire protection for the 421 corridor. In November 1995, the New Hanover County Board of
Commissioners approved the establishment of a Fire Service Administration Department and a Fire Service
Administrator position. This position was responsible for the administration of the County Fire Service pro-
gram as well as supervising five existing positions that were in the Inspection Department completing fire
inspection and code enforcement. The Fire Service Administrator was hired in June of 1996 and in Novem-
ber of the same year the Board of Commissioners voted to create a fire department for the unprotected 421
corridor. The first Fire Captain was hired to manage the 421 station in July of 1997 followed by 9 firefighters
being hired in September. With these initial firefighters, the department began to respond to incidents in-
cluding first responding to emergency medical calls.

In July of 1998, another 21 firefighters were hired to assist with staffing in the volunteer stations. During
this time the volunteer rescue squads were also struggling. The Ogden Rescue Squad established in 1962
and the New Hanover Rescue Squad established in 1972 had merged in 1985 to become Ogden-New Ha-

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 11

nover Rescue Squad. For a short period of time, 1974-1986, the Wilmington Fire Department provided EMS
response but only in the city limits. Shortly after the merger of the volunteer rescue squads, the county
formed an EMS system (1986) with the system becoming paramedic in 1990. By the 1990’s, the volunteer
rescue squads main responsibility had shifted from EMS response to providing rescue response. The county
EMS system was providing the main EMS service and in 1998 New Hanover Regional Medical Center took
over EMS moving it to a hospital-based system. The hospital’s previous experience with critical care trans-
port which began in 1991 positioned them as a good fit to take on the county EMS system. The continued
struggle with volunteer staffing at the volunteer rescue squads led to a partnership between Ogden-New
Hanover Rescue Squad and NHCFR in 1999 to provide a shared staffing model to deliver rescue services.
By 2000, NHCFR was the sole provider of rescue services in the unincorporated areas of the county. In
2002, the agency worked with New Hanover Regional EMS to become part of the model emergency medical
system which outlined a system where the department would provide basic life support care prior to EMS
arrival for high acuity incidents increasing the level of care and accountability.

The volunteer fire departments also struggled with the increased call volume and the growth of the coun-
ty into a more urbanized area. As this call demand continued to increase, additional staffing was placed
in the volunteer fire departments. In
September 2010, the County Board of
Commissioners voted to consolidate
the existing fire service districts into
two districts essentially eliminating the
volunteer fire department’s contracts.
This consolidation resulted in New
Hanover County Fire Services being the
primary response agency of the fire
district effective October 1, 2010. Since
the consolidation of the volunteer fire
departments, additional staffing and
apparatus have been added to create
the department as it exists today. Today
the department provides a range of
services from eight stations strategically
located throughout the unincorporat-
ed area of the county staffed with 128
uniformed and civilian full-time employ-
ees as well as a small cache of part time
employees and volunteers.

Legal and Financial Basis Figure 3 New Hanover County and Automatic Aid Fire Stations

North Carolina General Statute 153A-
233 gives counties the authority to
establish, organize, equip, support, and
maintain a fire department as well as
designate fire districts for insurance
grading purposes. The County Service
District Act of 1973 gives counties the
authority to establish service districts
for fire protection. The county may
levy property taxes within the defined
service district in addition to those lev-
ied throughout the county. The county
may also allocate any other revenues
not otherwise restricted by law to the
service district.

12 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

The New Hanover County Fire Service District was established by resolution of the County Commissioners
on January 6th, 1986. It was created to provide fire services to the unincorporated areas of the county. An
ad valorem tax on real and personal property located in the unincorporated area funds operating and cap-
ital expenses for the district. In addition to the ad valorem revenues, the Fire Service District also receives a
proportional share of the Article 39, 40 and 42 sales taxes based on the value of the ad valorem levy.

Service Boundaries and Responsibilities

New Hanover County Fire Rescue (NHCFR) is one of five agencies that makes up New Hanover County.
NHCFR is divided by the Wilmington Fire Department (WFD) that encompasses the City of Wilmington and
is surrounded by three beach fire departments – Wrightsville Beach FD (WBFD) to the east, Carolina Beach
FD (CBFD) to the south of NHCFR and Kure Beach FD (KBFD) to the south of CBFD (Figure 3). NHCFR and the
surrounding agencies within New Hanover County use Automatic Vehicle Locators (AVL) to dispatch closest
unit (Figure 4). All agencies in New Hanover County participate in automatic aid. NHCFR also has automatic
aid agreements with surrounding agencies within Pender and Brunswick County. These agencies include
Leland Fire Rescue, Navassa FD, Winnabow FD, Pender EMS & Fire, and Rocky Point FD.

NHCFR provides community risk reduction through the services provided to the community. These services
include structural and wildland firefighting; technical rescue including confined space rescue, high angle
rescue, trench rescue, vehicle extrication, urban search and rescue, and water rescue; fire investigation; fire
and life safety prevention and education; fire inspections; and emergency medical first response.

New Hanover County has a transport agency for emergency medical services (EMS) that is operated by
Novant New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC). NHCFR first responds to high acuity calls at the
EMT-Basic level.

Figure 4 New Hanover County Automatic Vehicle Locator District Boundaries 13

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 5 North Carolina State Urban Search and Rescue Teams

North Carolina maintains seven regional Urban Search and Rescue Task forces in the state (Figure 5). These
teams help communities that have been overwhelmed by the effects of natural or manmade disasters.
NHCFR with the assistance of the Wilmington Fire Department operates Task Force 11. The Task Force also
includes a swift water search and rescue component.

Natural Characteristics Figure 6 New Hanover County and Municipal Boundaries

Geography

New Hanover County is in the southeastern coastal area
of North Carolina. It is bordered on the north by Pender
County, on the west by Brunswick County and the Cape
Fear River, and on the south and east by the Atlantic
Ocean. New Hanover County consists of the unincorpo-
rated areas of the county, the City of Wilmington, Town
of Kure Beach, Town of Wrightsville Beach, and the
Town of Carolina Beach for a total of 192 square land
miles (Figure 6).

Topography

New Hanover County is approximately 328 square miles,
of which 40% consists of water and wetlands. The unin-
corporated area accounts for approximately 136 square
land miles. The area’s topography has an average eleva-
tion of less than 40 feet above sea level with the highest
peak at 75 ft.

Geology

New Hanover County falls within three distinct water-
sheds: The New, Cape Fear, and Northeast Cape Fear.
Geologically, New Hanover County is in the coastal plain
and is comprised mostly of tertiary rock.

14 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Physiography

New Hanover County has a mild climate with an average temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit. The aver-
age daily temperature ranges from 53 degrees to 74 degrees (Figure 7). The annual average rainfall is 54
inches with the annual average snowfall being 2 inches.

Figure 7 New Hanover County Average Temperature

Human and Human-Related Characteristics

Population

The population of New Hanover County has more than quadrupled since 1940, increasing from slightly over
50,000 in 1940 to over 200,000 today. As of the 2019 US Census, New Hanover County’s total estimated pop-
ulation is 234,473 (Table 1) with 99,775 in the unincorporated area (Figure 8). Since the last census in 2010,
New Hanover County has had a growth rate of 16% (Table 1) and the population is expected to continue to
grow with a grow rate of 66% by 2040 (Figure 9). The Monkey Junction, Gateway, and Gordon Road areas
have the highest population density (Figure 10).

As the population grows, its composition by age is changing. In 2010, Generation X and Baby Boomers rep-
resented the largest two segments of the county’s population (Figure 11). This has changed over the years
as Generation X is losing its share of the population and the Baby Boomers and Millennials experience an
upward trend.

Since 2000 the proportion of males and females residing in the unincorporated area of New Hanover Coun-
ty has remained almost evenly split, with a slightly higher percentage of females (Figure 12). This remains
true for New Hanover County as a whole.

The racial composition of unincorporated New Hanover County is comprised of 81.7% White, 9.4% Black,
5.0% Hispanic, and 1.4% Asian (Figure 13). Comparatively to the state and the country, New Hanover County
including the unincorporated area have a lower percentage of minority populations.

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 15

2010 Census 2019 Population 2040 Low 2040 High Growth
Growth Rate
Population Population Estimates Growth 337,054 16%
New Hanover County 152,157 16%
Unincorporated 202,667 234,473 249,026 167,904 16%
Wilmington 16,993 7%
Beach Towns 85,973 99,775 105,639

106,476 123,744 130,832

10,218 10,954 12,555

Table 1 New Hanover County Population Statistics

Figure 8 New Hanover County Unincorporated Area Population

Figure 9 New Hanover County Population Growth

16 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 10 New Hanover County Population Density Map

Figure 11 New Hanover County Population Generational Composition 17

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 12 New Hanover County Population by Gender

Figure 13 Population Racial Composition Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

18

Economics and Socioeconomics

New Hanover County had a labor force of 116,493 workers as of 2018. As of 2019, the top five employers in
New Hanover County were the New Hanover Regional Medical Center, New Hanover County School System,
UNC-Wilmington, PPD Development, and the County of New Hanover. These employers align with the lead-
ing industries of educational services, health care and social assistance (Figure 14).

Figure 14 New Hanover County Employment Sectors

Key economic metrics in the area economy have exhibited many positive characteristics over the past

several years, with employment growing and unemployment declining (Figure 15). Poverty rates are below

the state and country rates and the median household income is $67,596 (Figure 16). In the 2020 Cape Fear

Talent report from Cape Fear Collec-

tive, businesses identified that they are

looking to expand; however, there is

a need to improve the talent pipeline.

High education rates are the founda-

tion to build a strong workforce and

talent pipeline that has a well-educat-

ed workforce with the applicable skill

set (Figure 17). Even with COVID-19

impacts to the tourism influenced job

sectors, the several hundred million

dollars in investments and new jobs

planned for the area should contribute

to economic growth. Figure 15 Unemployment Rates

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 19

Figure 16 Median Household Income and Poverty Rate

Figure 17 Percentage of Population Educated

Human Made Characteristics

Development

New Hanover County has approximately 45,000 acres of undeveloped land with 16,000 acres considered
protected. Some of largest areas of undeveloped land include the northwest and northeast areas of the
county around the I-140 corridor, Sidbury Road, and Holly Shelter Road. Almost sixty percent of the zoned
land in the unincorporated county is residential followed by heavy industrial at twenty three percent.
New Hanover County has a diverse spectrum of housing including single-family, multi-family and mobile
homes. Since the area is a vacation destination the county is also a host to many second homes. Seven-
ty-four percent of housing units are owned while 26% of unit are rented (Figure 18).

Figure 18 Owned and Rented Housing Units

20 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

The increase in residential development activity directly correlates with increased economic activity (Figure
19). One of the biggest housing booms was in the early 1990’s after the completion of Interstate 40, which
directly relates to the median building age (Figure 20).
As the population is expected to grow, so will the demand for housing. There is an estimated housing gap of
over 10,700 rental units and over 13,000 for sale units within the county over the next 10 years. Special pop-
ulations such as the frail elderly do not have adequate housing to meet their needs in the future especially
with the expected generational shifts in the population.

Figure 19 Housing Units and Growth

Figure 20 Median Building Age

Housing Affordability

The 2021 Wilmington and New Hanover County Housing Needs Assessment identified that almost half of
renters and more than a quarter of homeowners are considered housing cost burdened (Figure 21). There
is widespread demand for housing serving the very low- and low-income renter households. There are very
few vacant rental single-family homes or duplexes with most of these types of rentals not affordable to
low-income households. The volume and median sales prices of homes have increase since 2016, however,
household income among low-income households has not kept pace. There is limited for sale housing stock
among products priced below $200,000. Affordable housing programs and products will be important to
help alleviate cost burdened housing situations.

Figure 21 Housing Affordability 21

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Service Type Infrastructure

Electrical power in New Hanover County is pro-
vided by Duke Energy. Duke Energy generates
their electricity from coal, natural gas, nuclear,
petroleum, and hydroelectric sources. New Ha-
nover County is home to one of their natural gas
power plants.

Piedmont Natural Gas services approximately
12% of county residents for heating purposes in
their homes.

Water and sewer services are provided by Cape
Fear Public Utility Authority, Aqua North Carolina
Inc., and Figure 8 Island. Parts of the county still
require the use of wells and septic systems, as a
portion of the unincorporated area is not cov-
ered under a water and sewer provider.

Transportation Infrastructure

New Hanover County is served by two interstates,

I-40 and I-140, enabling access to the northern

part of the county, and one freeway, Martin

Luther King Parkway, allowing east/west access

through the northern portion of the county (Fig-

ure 22). The Wilmington Metropolitan Planning

Organization (WMPO) provides transportation

planning services for New Hanover County, Wilm-

ington, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure

Beach as well as incorporated and unincorporat-

ed areas in Brunswick and Pender counties. New

roadway projects and improvement within the Figure 22 Major Roads and Rail Lines

unincorporated area are the responsibility of the

North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).

Automobile transportation is the dominant means of transportation leading to congested roadways (Figure
23). Excessive automobile dependence has led to continued and worsening traffic congestion regardless of
investment and widening. The road network structure does not lend itself to maintaining the flow of traffic.
As the population continues to grow, traffic will continue to cause challenges to apparatus responding to
incidents.

CSX Transportation provides service running north-south from Raleigh and east-west from Charlotte to the
Wilmington terminus (Figure 22). An intermodal rail service provides transport of materials and goods out of
the State Port. Rail service in the county consists of freight only.

The Port of Wilmington is in the city of Wilmington; however, it
is an economic driver for the county, the region, and the state.
With seven container cranes, the terminal has capacity for
600,000 containers. The primary products that move through
the port include grains, wood products, chemicals, fertilizers,
furniture, apparel, and automotive parts.

Figure 23 Automobile Dependence The Wilmington International Airport (ILM) (Figure 22) accom-
modates air carriers (for hire/commercial airlines), general avi-
ation (private/company aircraft), and military aircraft. ILM ranks
fourth in North Carolina for the most passengers boarding an
airplane behind Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro.

22 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Safety Remediation Programs

New Hanover County Fire Rescue provides numerous community risk reduction programs as outlined below.

Risk Area Program Name Program Description

Smoke alarm/Carbon Provide and install smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms,
monoxide alarm installs and bed shaker alarms for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Recess Buddies During recess, play fire safety related activities teaching fire
safety while increasing youth’s physical activity.

Community event Attend community events and share information about fire
outreach safety and programs offered.

Fire Youth Fire Prevention
and Intervention
Program

Habitat for Humanity Install residential sprinklers in homes built by Habitat for
Cape Fear Residential Humanity.
Sprinkler Project

Fire code inspections

Child Passenger Safety Teach and assist in the correct installation and usage of car
seats in vehicles at fire stations and community events.

EMS Hands Only CPR Provide public instruction at events or training classes for
hands only CPR
CPR and Stop the Bleed
for county employees Provide training in CPR and Stop the Bleed for county em-
ployees

Homebound Administer COVID-19 vaccine to homebound individuals.
Vaccination Program

Rescue Rip current Developed PSAs and documentation for rip current safety.

Fire/EMS GREAT Camp Teach first aid, CPR, and fire safety to at risk youth.

Fire/ Public Safety Merit Teach scouts merit badges about emergency preparedness,
EMS/ Badge College first aid, safety, weather, fire safety, search and rescue.
Disaster
Traffic preemption Add devices to traffic signals to promote the flow of traffic
reducing barriers for emergency vehicles.

Table 2 New Hanover County Fire Rescue Safety Remediation Programs

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 23

New Hanover County Fire Rescue also partners with many agencies across the county to provide additional
community risk reduction programs.

Risk Area Agency Program Program Description

Community event out- Attend community events and share in-

New Hanover County reach formation about disaster preparedness.
Emergency Management
Disaster Community Emergency Train individuals to assist and respond

Response Team in their neighborhood during a disaster

Red Cross Disaster Assistance Provide post disaster assistance
North Carolina Forest
Service Community event out- Provide education and safety informa-
Fire Red Cross
reach tion about open burning.
National Weather Service
Smoke alarms Install smoke alarms and bed shakers
for deaf and hard of hearing.

Rip current education

Hazmat New Hanover County Envi- Hazwagon Collection of household hazardous
ronmental Management waste free of charge.

New Hanover Regional Hands Only CPR Provide public instruction at events or
EMS Child Passenger Safety training classes for hands only CPR

New Hanover Regional Teach and assist in the correct instal-
Medical Center lation and usage of car seats before
leaving hospital.

Fall prevention

New Hanover County Fall prevention
Senior Center
EMS YMCA Fall prevention
Area of Aging Fall Prevention
Safe Kids Cape Fear Water Safety Provides medication disposal drop off
New Hanover Sheriff’s Child Passenger Safety locations.
Office
Medication Take Back Educate parents and children about
New Hanover County safety aspects of riding a bicycle on the
Health Department Bike Safety Rodeo streets and roads.

Hot Car Temperature Provide education about the tempera-
Display ture inside a car.
Medication Display
Board Education about potential poisonings
COVID-19 Vaccination that can occur in the home.
and Testing Clinics
Administer COVID-19 vaccination and
testing.

Table 3 New Hanover County Safety Remediation Programs

24 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Critical Infrastructure

There are several public buildings and community facilities located throughout the unincorporated
area of New Hanover County. Information for the infographics were obtained from the Homeland
Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data database, the FCC Licensing Database, and the Southeastern
NC Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Figure 24 Critical Infrastructure 25

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Planning Zones and Planning Zone Methodology

The New Hanover County Planning Department has identified 12 complete community planning areas as
part of the county’s strategic plan. These complete communities are based on local neighborhood names
whose boundaries are defined by existing fire districts, school districts, physical barriers like major road-
ways and natural barriers like rivers and creeks. These 12 complete communities were overlayed with the 8
fire station districts creating the agency’s 15 planning zones (Figure 25).

Planning Zone Square Population Daytime Residential Commercial
11 Castle Hayne Miles Population: Road miles Buildings Buildings

0.7 Workers

87 100 4.84 28 4

11 Wrightsboro 13.6 6121 2850 87.34 2609 311

12 421 16.9 154 1555 27.11 44 134

13 Castle Hayne 37.9 5551 2020 126.63 1740 256

14 Porters Neck 18.4 9262 4021 90.58 3193 104

16 Gateway 0.2 186 293 1.16 61 16

16 Gordon Rd 2.4 7114 3456 31.12 2438 163

16 Ogden 8.2 14110 4346 91.50 5649 146

17 Gateway 1.9 4925 1224 29.43 1935 17

17 Gordon Rd 2.2 5378 1091 25.94 1648 11

17 Murrayville 9.4 9666 4749 86.30 2843 208

18 Monkey Junction 9.2 20749 7405 136.98 7136 223

18 Veteran’s Park 4.2 6915 2051 46.20 2508 63

19 Snows Cut 6.2 5718 1086 44.50 2225 48

19 Veteran’s Park 2.8 4749 1145 28.16 1747 34

Table 4 Planning Zone Characteristics and Statistics

26 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 25 Planning Zones 27

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Planning Zone 11 Castle Hayne & 11 Wrightsboro

Figure 26 Planning Zone 11 Castle Hayne & Wrightsboro Map

28 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 29

Figure 27 Planning Zone 11 Castle Hayne & Wrightsboro Statistics

Planning Zone 12 421

Figure 28 Planning Zone 12 421 Map

30 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 29  Planning Zone 12 421 Statistics

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 31

Figure 30 Figure 30.pngPlanning Zone 13 Castle Hayne

32 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 31 Planning Zone 13 Castle Hayne Statistics

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 33

Planning Zone 14 Porters Neck

Figure 32 Planning Zone 14 Porters Neck Map

34 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 33 Planning Zone 14 Porters Neck Statistics

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 35

Figure 34 Planning Zone 16 Gateway, Gordon Road, & Ogden MapPlanning Zone 16 Gateway, Gordon Road & Ogden

36 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 37

Figure 35 Planning Zone 16 Gateway, Gordon Road & Ogden Statistics

Figure 36 Planning Zone 17 Gateway, Gordon Road & Murrayville MapPlanning Zone 17 Gateway, Gordon Road & Murrayville

38 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 39

Figure 37 Planning Zone 17 Gateway, Gordon Rd & Murrayville Statistics

Planning Zone 18 Monkey Junction & Veterans Park

Figure 38 Planning Zone 18 Monkey Junction & Veterans Park Map

Figure 38 Planning Zone 18 Monkey Junction & Veterans Park Statistics

40 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 41

Figure 39 Planning Zone 18 Monkey Junction & Veterans Park Statistics

Planning Zone 19 Snows Cut & Veterans Park

Figure 40 Planning Zone 19 Snows Cut & Veterans Park Map

42 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 43

Figure 41 Planning Zone 19 Snows Cut & Veterans Park Statistics

Description of Agency Programs and Services

Services Provided

All emergency service organizations in New Hanover County are dispatched for calls for service through the
New Hanover County Public Safety Communications Center. Once a call comes into the center, the location
and nature of the emergency are determined by the Computer Aided Dispatch System (CAD) utilizing Emer-
gency Fire Dispatch (EFD) and Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD).

Community Risk Reduction

NHCFR provides code enforcement for the unincorporated areas of New Hanover County. Through a con-
tract, this service is also provided to the Town of Wrightsville Beach. The primary responsibility for the
division is to perform fire and life safety inspections, enforce code compliance, and participate in the New
Hanover County Technical Review Committee. Plan and subdivision reviews are conducted by a fire plan
reviewer employed by New Hanover County Building Safety Department Development Services .

Public Education

NHCFR provides public education through a variety of methods coordinated by the Community Risk Re-
duction Coordinator. Programs that address fire risks include smoke alarm installations, Recess Buddies,
community events, school visits, Sound Off Program, Explorer Post Program, Youth Firesetter Prevention
and Intervention Program, and Habitat for Humanity Cape Fear Residential Sprinkler Project. Programs
that address the EMS risks include Child Passenger Safety, hands-only CPR, and Matter of Balance. Each fire
station is a Child Passenger Safety Permanent Checking Station where caregivers and parents can have their
car seat checked for proper installation. NHCFR administers two public education programs that address
a variety of risks, the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) Camp and the Public Safety Merit
Badge College.

Fire Investigation, Origin, Cause

NHCFR provides fire investigation, origin, and cause determination for the unincorporated areas of the
county. Investigators work in conjunction with many agencies to prosecute arson related cases including the
New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Office of State Fire Marshal, State Bureau of
Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Domestic Preparedness, Planning, and Response

Domestic preparedness, planning, and response is the responsibility of New Hanover County Emergency
Management (NHCEM). NHCFR supports NHCEM with command staff in the Emergency Operations Center
(EOC) as well as standing up the Joint Command Center (JCC) during disasters. The agency also supports
NHCEM logistics functions during disasters through the joint fire and emergency management warehouse.
The agency participates with emergency management in developing plans such as the New Hanover County
Emergency Operations Plan, Southeastern NC Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, and the New Hanover Coun-
ty Continuity of Operations Plan.

Fire Suppression

Fire suppression response is provided to mitigate many different types of fires including vehicle fires,
marine fires, structure fires, and wildland fires. Water supply varies throughout the county therefore the
agency has the capacity to deploy tenders in the areas that are lacking fire hydrants. Wildland fire suppres-
sion is administered by the North Carolina Forestry Service through a contract for service. The agency still
responds to wildland fires as an initial response to size up, provide initial fire control, and notify the North
Carolina Forestry Service for further resources and management.

44 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Emergency Medical Services

NHCFR provides basic life support first response to high acuity medical incidents. Advanced life support and
transport services are provided by Novant New Hanover Regional EMS. As part of the model EMS system,
NHCFR operates at the EMT-Basic level. The model system outlines standards as well as the plan for agen-
cies to work together to achieve these standards.

Technical Rescue

NHCFR provides a wide range of technical rescue services including extrication, high angle rescue, confined
space rescue, trench rescue, structural collapse rescue, wilderness rescue, agricultural rescue, and water
rescue. NHCFR in cooperation with the Wilmington Fir. Department operate a state Urban Search and Res-
cue Task Force with a swift water rescue component.

Hazardous Materials

Hazardous materials response is provided at the operational level. Technician level response is provided by
the North Carolina Regional Response Team, hosted by the Wilmington Fire Department. This resource can
be utilized through automatic aid or through emergency management as a statewide resource.

Station Locations

NHCFR operates from eight stations distributed throughout the unincorporated areas of the county (Figure
42). Administrative office space is located separately from the fire stations.

Figure 42 New Hanover County Fire Rescue Station Locations 45

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Resources and Staffing

NHCFR staffs 8 engines, 2 trucks, 1 rescue, 1 tender, and 1 command vehicle daily as well as an additional
command vehicle weekday from 8-5. The engines, truck, and rescue are staffed with three personnel 24
hours a day. The tender is staffed with one firefighter apparatus operator 24 hours a day. The remainder of
companies such as tenders, rehab, marine, squad and brush units are cross staffed with existing personnel
as needed for an incident.

Station Technical Other
Engine Truck Rescue Tender Marine Squad Brush Rescue Command Reserves

Station 11 1 1 1 1 Trench
Trailer

Station 12 1 211

Station 13 1 11 2 Engines

Station 14 1 1 21 1 Engine

Station 16 1 1 Engine
1 Rescue

Station 17 1 1 1 Swift Water 1 1 1 Squad
Trailer Command 2 Vans

Station 18 1 1 2 1

Station 19 1 12 1 1 Engine

1 53’ Trailer

Warehouse 1 Flatbed
Trailer

1 Generator

Table 5 New Hanover County Fire Rescue Resources

Search and Rescue Resources
SAR-1 (Towing Truck)
SAR-2 (Tractor)
SAR-3 (High Water Vehicle)
SAR-4 (Towing Truck)
SAR-5 (Towing Truck)
SAR-6 (Utility Truck)
SAR-7 (Dump Body Truck)
SAR Forklift
SAR Base of Operations Trailer
SAR Generator
SAR Boat 1
SAR Boat 2
SAR Boat 3
SAR Boat 4

Table 6 New Hanover County Fire Rescue Search and Rescue Resources (Task Force 11)

46 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Organizational Structure

NHCFR is divided into three main divisions which include Professional Services, Support Services, and Ad-
ministration and Planning (Figure 43).

Figure 43 New Hanover County Fire Rescue Organizational Chart

Professional Services

The Professional Services division consists of response and professional development. Response is divided
into special operations as well as the three shifts that are responsible for emergency response. Professional
Development is responsible for recruit training, in-service training, curriculum development, officer develop-
ment, quality improvement, and initial certification training.

1 Deputy Chief

Response Professional Development

• 3 Battalion Chiefs • Battalion Chief (dual role
• 3 Zone 2 Captains - also operates as daytime
• 30 Zone 1 Captains southern response Battalion)
• 1 Floater Captain
• 45 Firefighter Apparatus Opera- • 3 Zone 3 Captains

tors
• 6 Floater Firefighter Apparatus

Operators
• 24 Firefighters

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021 47

Support Services

The Support Services division consists of Fire Code Branch and Logistics Branch. The Fire Code Branch is re-
sponsible for fire investigations, the hydrant program, community risk reduction, public education, and fire
and life safety inspections. The Logistics Branch is responsible for capital improvements, communications
equipment, fleet maintenance, supplies management, facility management, equipment management, and
procurement.

1 Deputy Chief

Fire Code Branch Logistics Branch

• 3 Deputy Fire Marshals • 2 Zone 3 Captains
• 1 Community Risk Reduction • 1 Logistics Support Techni-

Coordinator cian (Part time)

Administration and Planning

The Administration and Planning Division has two main responsibilities. One surrounding administration
of the agency which includes budget; human resources including hiring, promotional processes, and pay-
roll; and the operation of the business office. The second responsibility is the planning responsibilities that
include strategic planning, information technology, data management, accreditation, and quality assurance.

1 Battalion Chief

• 1 Public Safety Analyst
• 1 Quality Assurance Coordinator (Part Time)
• 1 Administrative Support Coordinator

» 1 Fiscal Support Technician

Service Demands

Incident counts have been decreasing over the last three years (Figure 44). This decline is in part to the
changes in response and demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency medical calls are the ma-
jority of incident types followed by other incident types such as false alarms, good intent calls, and service
calls (Figure 45). The evaluation of emergency
and non-emergency responses shows fewer
non-emergency incidents for EMS and motor ve-
hicle crashes (MVC), while all other incident types
have more non-emergency responses (Figure 46).
Of all the stations in the agency, Station 18 which
houses 2 companies is the busiest station (Figure
47). Incident volume is consistent across the days
of the week; however, there is an increase in vol-
ume between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. with the peak at
5 p.m. (Figure 48 & 49). Hotspot analysis of emer-
gency incidents shows clusters of incidents in the
more urbanized areas of the county (Figure 50).

48 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 44 Incident Count per Year 2018-2020

Figure 45 Incident Count by Incident Type 2018-2020 49

Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021

Figure 46 Incident Count by Emergency and Non-emergency Incident Type 2018-2020

Figure 47 Incident Count by Fire Station 2018-2020

50 Community Risk Assessment - Standards of Cover 2021