blah blah blah - it all means nothing - taxes will go up - thousands of homes will burn - thousands will die from drug ODs and heart attacks - nothing will improve - there is zero rationality behind any of this
show me 1 single study that shows that a larger FD budget will save a single life or a single building it should be obvious - but it probably is not - in fact - maybe a larger FD budget makes people more careless - and the deaths and losses actually skyrocket when the FD budget goes up ============================== Brunswick County proposes 14-minute fire response time standard Brunswick County leaders are proposing new response time standards for all county fire departments. By Delaney Tarpley Updated: 14 hours ago BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Brunswick County leaders are proposing new response time standards for all county fire departments, requiring crews to arrive on scene within 14 minutes on 80 percent of their calls. County Manager Steve Stone presented the first draft of an updated fire agreement in January. He said the response time was modeled after a national standard for volunteer rural fire departments. The proposal comes as the county continues to grow and fire departments face increasing demand. Stone said some fire chiefs have raised objections to the 14-minute requirement. Volunteer departments cite limited paid staff and traffic issues as factors that could make the standard difficult to meet. “Some of the departments don’t have any paid staff,” Stone said. “And so if nobody’s at the station and a call comes in, somebody has to get to the station, get into turn-out gear, crank up the equipment, and drive to the site. Under the proposed agreement, any department that repeatedly fails to meet the standard could lose county funding. Many volunteer departments rely primarily on county funding to operate. Sunset Beach Fire Chief Richard Childres said the standard is achievable for his department but acknowledged the challenge for others. “It’s achievable. We can reach everyone well within that 14-minute response. So for Sunset Beach, yes, it is. But for others, it might be more difficult,” Childres said. Childres said losing county funding could have severe consequences for some departments. “100% we rely on that... probably it’ll be detrimental,” Childres said. Stone said the intent of the new standards is not to defund departments that struggle to comply, but instead to work with departments that are struggling to meet the standard. “Our intent is to improve the quality of the overall fire service in the county. We’re becoming more and more suburban, and it’s important that we help the fire departments step up to the next level,” Stone said. “We would try to have a collaborative effort to help any department that didn’t meet the standards.” Stone also said he is considering a grace period of up to one year for departments to adjust to the new requirements. Stone plans to meet with fire chiefs for a negotiating session next Wednesday. While he said he does not want to change the 14-minute response time, he is seeking an agreement that works for fire chiefs, county staff, and residents. “I think we have a spirit of cooperation here to make it work, and we’ll do what it takes to get everybody on board,” Stone said. The county hopes to have a finalized agreement in place by July 1. You can view the full first draft of the proposed agreement here. Copyright 2026 WECT. All rights reserved. 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