Calabash Fire Department

09/04/2026

People call us everyday asking if the Brunswick County burn ban is still in effect. Yes, it is. Here is the official notice from the Brunswick County Fire Marshal's Office:

"Reminder: Burn Ban Still in Effect for Brunswick County’s Unincorporated Areas

PUBLIC NOTICE | Posted Sept. 4, 2026

BOLIVIA, N.C. – The Brunswick County Fire Marshal is reminding the community that a burn ban for the unincorporated areas is still in effect as of Friday, Sept. 4, 2026.

All burning within 100 feet of any structure is banned within the unincorporated areas of Brunswick County. An unincorporated area is an area not within a city or town’s limits. If you are located in a city or town, contact your local municipal official related to the burn ban.

The burn ban for the unincorporated areas has been in effect since Monday, June 8, 2026, due to significant drought conditions and fire danger risks the County has experienced
throughout the summer months.

Brunswick County is still classified as an Extreme Drought (D3) county according to the most recent update from the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (NCMDAC) on Thursday, Sept. 3. Some areas in the southern end of the county are also still experiencing Exceptional Drought (D4) conditions. These are the two highest tiers on the U.S. Drought Monitor’s scale.

The burn ban does not apply to any open burning permits issued by the North Carolina Forest Service.

All open burning of natural vegetation outside 100 feet of an occupied dwelling requires a permit from the North Carolina Forest Service. In addition, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality may require additional permits for certain types and locations of burning.

The burn ban will remain in place until conditions improve. Brunswick County will send out a notice when it is lifted and/or to communicate any necessary safety updates related to the burn ban. For questions about the burn ban, contact the Brunswick County Fire Marshal’s Office at 910.253.2041.

Visit Brunswick County’s Burn Ban / Open Burning webpage for more information about local burn bans and open burning regulations."

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

Please try to avoid southbound Ocean Highway West at Pea Landing Road if you possibly can. A serious accident with injuries has one lane of southbound Ocean Highway blocked at this location and traffic is backing up.

09/03/2026

💧 **PUBLIC NOTICE: ANNUAL WATER SYSTEM FLUSHING**

Brunswick County Public Utilities will use free chlorine as its primary water disinfectant from **October 1 through November 2026** as part of its annual water system flushing program.

During this period, **fire hydrants throughout the Calabash Fire District will be opened and allowed to flow freely for short periods of time**. This is a planned part of the flushing process and helps remove sediment and perform routine maintenance on the water system.

Residents may temporarily notice:

• Discolored water or sediment
• A change in the taste or smell of the water
• Fire hydrants flowing for short periods

These conditions are temporary and are not considered harmful. Residents with aquariums or ponds should test and properly treat water before adding it to an aquatic environment. Kidney dialysis clinics and residents using home dialysis equipment should also be aware of this temporary change.

For questions or concerns, please contact Brunswick County Public Utilities at:

📞 **910-253-2657**
📞 **910-371-3490**
📞 **910-454-0512**

Please share this information with your neighbors so they’re aware that hydrant flushing throughout our district is planned and part of the County’s annual water-system maintenance.

08/31/2026

Months ago, during a meeting about fire service funding, someone made a comment that has stayed with me:

“The problem is, firefighters are starting at the same or more than teachers with master’s degrees.”

What struck me was not only the comparison itself, but what it seemed to reveal about how firefighters and teachers are viewed. The comment appeared to frame firefighters’ compensation as a problem simply because it was comparable to, or higher than, that of teachers with advanced degrees. It also suggested that the value of one profession could be used to diminish the value of another, rather than recognizing that both firefighters and teachers perform essential work and deserve fair compensation.

I see two problems with that statement.

The first is simple: good teachers deserve to be paid more. My mother was a teacher, and I saw firsthand the difference she made in the lives of her students. Nothing I say here is intended to diminish the value of teachers or the many uncompensated hours they dedicate for the good of their students. Nor am I trying to suggest that firefighters are somehow more deserving than anyone else. The two are very different professions, both of which are incredibly important to our communities and in my opinion both are underpaid.

The second problem is something I don’t think is always understood when firefighter salaries are compared to other professions: the number of hours firefighters are scheduled to work.

A firefighter working a traditional three-platoon schedule is scheduled for approximately 2,920 hours per year. By comparison, a typical full-time employee working a 40-hour week works approximately 2,080 hours per year before overtime.

In other words, the firefighter’s schedule includes roughly 840 more hours each year—the equivalent of about 21 additional 40-hour workweeks.

That difference is important because an annual firefighter salary is not necessarily comparable to the annual salary of someone who works a standard 40-hour week. A firefighter’s annual compensation may include pay for substantially more scheduled work hours.

Overtime rules also differ depending on the type of fire department. For public fire departments (I.e., municipal), the Fair Labor Standards Act provides what is commonly called the 7(k) exemption, which allows qualifying departments to use a higher overtime threshold for firefighters. The details are more complicated than I can reasonably explain in a Facebook post.

For a private nonprofit fire department like Calabash Fire, however, our shift firefighters are generally subject to overtime after 40 hours in a seven-day workweek. As a result, the additional hours built into a firefighter’s schedule are not simply part of a standard 40-hour salary. They are generally compensated as overtime under the applicable rules.

So when you look at the annual compensation of one of our shift firefighters, you are not looking at a traditional 40-hour-per-week salary. You are looking at compensation for approximately 2,080 regular hours plus about 840 additional scheduled hours, with those additional hours generally paid at the applicable overtime rate.

It’s easy to look at two annual salary numbers and assume they represent the same thing. They don’t. One may represent a standard 40-hour workweek, while the other reflects a schedule requiring hundreds of additional hours each year, time they are away from their families and personal pursuits.

So before concluding that firefighters are “overpaid” because their annual compensation may equal or exceed that of someone in another profession, we should also consider how many hours each person is required to work to earn that compensation.

Chief Keith McGee

08/27/2026

What was once a largely rural county is rapidly becoming more suburban, with significant residential growth, more commercial development, more traffic, more residents, and more visitors. As that growth continues, the demands placed on our fire departments will continue to increase as well.

At some point, our staffing has to grow with the communities we serve.

It is not uncommon for municipal fire departments across North Carolina and throughout the country to staff fire apparatus with four and sometimes five firefighters. Unfortunately, Calabash Fire Department, like many departments across Brunswick County, is not yet in a position to provide that level of staffing.

This year, we made the decision to work toward having a minimum of six personnel on duty each day across our two stations. Most days we are able to accomplish that. Some days we may even have seven firefighters working. Other days, we may have only five.

That means there are times when an engine may respond with only two firefighters, or three on a better day.

Two firefighters can only accomplish so much when they arrive at a house fire, vehicle accident, medical emergency, or other serious incident. The first few minutes of an emergency are often the most critical, and staffing directly affects how much work can be accomplished safely and effectively during those minutes.

We fully recognize that adding personnel is expensive. Staffing is one of the largest costs associated with operating a fire department. But there is also a cost to continuing to serve a rapidly growing community with staffing levels that were designed for a much smaller community.

Our firefighters are doing an outstanding job with the resources available to them. They continue to work hard every day to keep pace with the demands of this community. Their efforts, along with firefighters from neighboring department a brought a large house fire under control in under 30 minutes this past Saturday evening.

But as Brunswick County continues to grow, we have to ask an important question: “How long can we expect our firefighters to continue doing more with the same resources?”

The future of fire protection in Brunswick County cannot simply be about maintaining what we have today. We need to plan for the level of service this county will require five, ten, and twenty years from now.

Growth has changed Brunswick County. Our fire service has to be allowed to change with it.

Author: Chief Keith McGee

08/25/2026

Invitation to participate in a worthy cause.....Flynn's Irish Tavern is honored to announce its sponsorship of the 2nd Annual T2T fundraiser, commencing at 11:00 on September 5th. The Horry County, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach Fire Department Honor Guards, accompanied by the Coastal Carolina Shields Pipes and Drums, will conduct the opening ceremonies at 12:30. Notable guest speakers from the FDNY, NYPD and Military will also be in attendance. Wil Guyton will perform after the ceremonies. There will also be a 50/50. A selection of vintage FDNY apparatus units will be on display.

08/24/2026

The photograph was taken only seven minutes after the 911 call was received for this structure fire on Calabash Road on Saturday, August 22. The investigation determined that the fire began when a grill caught fire and subsequently spread to the home.

In only a matter of minutes, a grill fire grew into a large and destructive structure fire. This photograph provides a powerful reminder that fires can spread extremely quickly and leave very little time to react.

As a reminder, please take these general safety precautions when grilling:

• Keep grills outdoors and at least 10 feet away from your home, garage, deck railings, overhangs, and anything else that can burn.

• Regularly clean grease and food buildup from the grill and drip tray. Accumulated grease can ignite and produce an intense fire.

• Never leave a grill unattended while it’s in use.

• Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the grilling area.

• Never use a grill inside a garage, enclosed porch, or other covered area.

• If a grill fire spreads or cannot be controlled safely, move away from the area and call 911. Never use water on a grease fire.

We want to take a moment to say THANK YOU to the agencies that provided aid during this fire which included: Sunset Beach Fire Department NC,Ocean Isle Beach Fire Department, Horry County Fire Rescue, Grissettown-Longwood Fire Department, Brunswick County EMS, and Brunswick County Sheriff's Department. Along with Calabash firefighters, the coordinated efforts of all responders involved enabled this fire to be brought under control within 30 minutes of the first apparatus arrival. Great job by everyone!

Our hearts go out to those that were devastated by this event! You are in our thoughts and prayers!
— Calabash Fire Department

08/22/2026

You will definitely want to avoid Calabash Road between Koolabrew and Meadowlands subdivision for the next little while. Emergency vehicles responding to a residential structure fire has the road completely blocked.

08/17/2026

We were recently delighted to host a lively group of residents from the Freedom Homes (aka The Grove) section of The Farm for a fire safety presentation. Jay Bertha, the fire safety outreach educator from the Calabash Fire Department Auxiliary, told participants about the dangers inherent in lithium batteries, updated them on the use of fire blankets for extinguishing fires, and answered multiple questions about general fire safety. The residents also learned about the importance of having their home addresses clearly marked so first responders can quickly locate them in an emergency. Jay provided information on additional services provided by our fire department such as assisting residents with smoke alarm battery replacement. Many thanks to Mady Bay, Neighborhood Watch chairperson for Freedom Homes, for organizing the event. We are happy to do fire safety presentations for any community group, business or organization, large or small. We can come to you or use our training room when it's available. Your safety is important to us!