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The region known is Cape Feare is home to 50,000 residents living in almost a dozen communities and protected by 23 fire stations who are staffed by a mix of paid and volunteer firefighters.
The first community in the area was the Village of Cape Feare. Cape Feare was initially protected by three separate volunteer fire companies operating from their own single bay stations:
Cape Feare Fire Company No. 1 operating a 100' Quint (combination engine and aerial device) and protecting the original downtown and an adjacent small productive forest. It is located on the original Main Street of the village, and is adjacent to the Cape Feare Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
Cape Feare Fire Company No. 2, operating a class 'A' pumper and protects mostly single family dwellings.
Cape Feare Excelsior Fire Company, a formerly quiet station operating a single class 'A' pumper from what for a long time was the extreme fringe of the village.
Recent explosive growth in the Village of Cape Feare and the construction of high value and high density properties, like the local sports franchise, saw the construction of Cape Feare Fire-Rescue Company #4, which is staffed by both full-time firefighters and volunteers and operates two class 'A' engines and a hydraulic aerial platform.
Here, Companies 1. and 2. work to extinguish a housefire
The next community was Brooke Point, built on one of the islands in the estuary, home to the regional cruise ship terminal and, inexplicably, the German battleship Bismarck(a leading tourist attraction). Brooke Point, a community of dense multi-story commercial and residential development is protected by two volunteer fire companies:
Brooke Point Hook and Ladder Company operates a pair of 100' quints from a historic station wedged along a busy street filled with highrise development.
Brooke Point Hose Company operates a single class 'A' pumper and protects the far side of the island. It responds from a single bay station nestled beneath an overpass of the interstate highway that cuts across the region, and protects a highly developed area.
The Town of Belmont, adjacent to the Village of Cape Feare, was originally a few blocks of single family houses adjacent to a busy industrial area. The Belmont Fire Department was originally an all-volunteer department that operated from a two-bay station on the town's main thoroughfare.
Station #1 is still in existence staffed fully by volunteers ,and from here the department operates two pumper-tankers to protect a mixed industrial/residential area, with frequent mutual aid responses to the nearby Coleridge Industrial Park.
The Town's growth continued towards the coast and with that a second station, Station #2 was built on the coastal highway that passes through Belmont. The station has combination staffing and operates two short-wheelbase class 'A' pumpers and a short-wheelbase aerial device.
Further growth across the Narrows saw the founding of four communities occupying the four remaining islands of the Narrows: Myrtle Island, Hewitt Island, Kent Island, and Anchor Island.
Myrtle Island, known for its high property values and luxury highrises is served by the all-career Myrtle Island Fire/Rescue, which operates short-wheelbase class 'A' pumpers and a short-wheelbase aerial device from it's Main Station on Myrtle Island. Myrtle Island also provides fire protection to the nearby Kent Island and Hewitt Island, small communities of largely single family vacation homes. Myrtle Island Fire/Rescue operates a substation housing a 100' Quint which protects the adjacent shore community of Port Chester, and the Laurel Head resort and tourist destination.
The fourth island, Anchor Island, is largely composed of luxury homes and tourist attractions. It is protected by the Anchor Island Fire Department, which uses a small career staff supplemented by volunteers to man its two class 'A' pumpers.
Past Port Chester, nestled in the far corner of the Cape Feare region, is the Town of Pearl Point, a growing community of mixed residential and commercial development that sprang up around a casino. It is protected by the all-volunteer Pearl Point Fire Department, which operates two class 'A' pumpers, a pumper-tanker for an outlying rural residential development (responding here), and a hydraulic aerial platform.
The Village of Sunset Beach was settled early in Cape Feare's development, on the opposite side of Coleridge Mountain from the Village and the Town of Belmont. Adjacent to the sprawling Cape Feare Industrial Park, it is protected by a combination department:
Station #1, originally a single-bay station in the old center of the village and since rebuilt and relocated, is operated by volunteers. The current station used to lie on the outskirts of the Village before being overtaken by development. It houses two class 'A' pumpers, and is frequently called to nearby Elk Farms.
Station #2, located adjacent to the local Cape Feare Sheriff Department station has career staffing supplemented by volunteers, houses two class 'A' pumpers and a 100' Quint, and protects a dense residential and commercial area. It also makes frequent responses to the neighboring industrial park.
The last and largest community in the region is the City of Highland Cove. Home to numerous attractions, landmarks, train stations, and the region's international airport, it is protected by a combination department with three stations:
It's Headquarters Station also serves as the Crash-Fire-Rescue station for the airport and is located adjacent to the main runway. It houses both Aircraft Rescue Firefighting (ARFF) apparatus, as well as structural response apparatus. It houses full-time staffing to staff the ten apparatus that operate from this station.
Station #2 is a small station that operates a single engine company and protects the sprawling residential suburbs that make up a large portion of the city. It is staffed by volunteers.
The recently constructed Station #3, located on the northern fringe, protects a mixed residential/commercial district, including the new Amphitheater, and its single class 'A' engine is operated by volunteers.
Industrial Fire Brigades
The region of Cape Feare is home to numerous industrial developments whose unique hazards and challenges warrant their own fire brigades, typically staffed by industrial employees and frequently responding to the neighboring towns and cities. Today the Industrial Park runs along the coast bordering the Village of Sunset Beach and extending almost to the Village of Cape Feare.
First created was the Cape Feare Industrial Park Fire Brigade. Station #1 is a small station located in the original industrial park, and today operates a hydraulic aerial platform, and a class 'A' engine.
Station #2 is a recently constructed three bay concrete fire station that serves as headquarters. It protects two large sea/freight cargo terminals and, unlike Station #1, has full-time staffing. Station #2 operates a specialized foam-firefighting apparatus (formerly an ARFF truck) to protect the many refining plants, in addition to a class 'A' engine and a pumper-tanker which both boast foam systems.
Coleridge Mountain was named for Coalridge Mines, a sprawling mining operation occupying a large part of the hillside. Known for its poor air and frequent truck gridlock, it is protected by the Coleridge Industrial Fire Brigade, staffed with full-time firefighters supplemented by employee reserves.
Their Main Station is a two bay station located on the main highway that runs up the mountain from Belmont and passes the Coleridge Rail Terminal before going down the mountain, through Elk Farms, and into Sunset Beach. It operates two class 'A' engines with integral foam systems.
As the mining operation expanded across the busy rail line that services the park, a small second station was constructed on the other side of the tracks to house a single, aged, foam pumper.
Elk Farms is a productive agricultural development occupying the lower slopes of coal ridge mountain. The employees volunteer their time to operate and staff the Elk Farms Fire Brigade. Originally operating from two small barns on opposite sides of the area, today it operates from a small station on the main highway and which houses two small class 'A' pumpers. The Brigade is also frequently called to the nearby Moore Cargo Rail Depot.
The discovery of oil in the region saw the construction of Kamp Krusty, a pumping and refinery development located off the interstate highway which serves the region. It is home to the small Kamp Krusty Fire Brigade, which operates a single elderly engine from a barn.