If you want to understand what Greensboro firefighters actually do in a year, the numbers tell the story pretty well.
In fiscal 2024–2025, the Greensboro Fire Department responded to 41,313 incidents, saved more than $221 million in property and answered nearly 25,000 medical calls. Firefighters also tested more than 15,000 fire hydrants, educated over 25,000 children and installed hundreds of smoke alarms across the city.
Those numbers come from the Greensboro Fire Department’s newly released annual report – which provides a snapshot of a department that’s increasingly busy while also trying to keep up with the growing city.
The report shows that today’s fire department does a heck of a lot more than fight fires.
During the fiscal year, Greensboro firefighters responded to 41,313 total incidents. Of those, 24,813 were medical emergencies. That means just about six out of every ten calls involved medical assistance rather than fires.
Actual fire incidents make up a much smaller share of the workload, though they of course remain among the most dangerous situations firefighters face. The department responded to 1,185 fire incidents, including 393 structure fires.
Compared to the previous fiscal year, fire incidents rose 2.9 percent, structure fires increased 4.04 percent and medical calls increased 0.82 percent.
During the year, fires caused about $7,156,582 in property loss, but firefighters were able to save an estimated $221,921,610 in property.
Greensboro firefighters also continue to play a key role in medical emergencies: During the year, Greensboro firefighters administered 99 CPR attempts, restoring a pulse in 30 cases for a 30.3 percent success rate based on pulse restoration when patients were transferred to EMS care. That figure stands out because the national survival rate for cardiac arrest patients treated by emergency medical services is typically less than 10 percent by the time patients are discharged from hospitals.
Emergency response is only part of the department’s work. Throughout the year, Greensboro firefighters and safety personnel tested 15,199 fire hydrants, investigated 189 fires, and completed 7,612 fire-safety preplans for buildings across the city.
The city’s firefighters also took part in 378 community events, installed 691 smoke alarms and replaced batteries in 577 smoke alarms.
Education efforts reached a large number of young residents as well: 25,470 children got fire safety education during the year.
The report also highlights which parts of Greensboro generate the most emergency calls.
Station 7 on Gatewood Avenue in east Greensboro was the busiest station in the city with 4,612 calls, followed by Station 52 on Meadowood Street in southeast Greensboro with 4,466 calls, and Station 11 on South Elm-Eugene Street in south Greensboro with 4,086 calls.
Other busy stations included Station 4 on Gorrell Street near downtown with 3,803 calls, Station 10 on West Gate City Boulevard in west Greensboro with 3,560 calls, and Station 5 on Westover Terrace in northwest Greensboro with 2,943 calls.
Rounding out the top ten were Station 8 on Coliseum Drive near the Greensboro Coliseum with 2,808 calls, Station 1 on North Church Street just north of downtown with 2,727 calls, Station 14 on Summit Avenue in northeast Greensboro with 2,416 calls, and Station 48 on Vandalia Street in south Greensboro with 1,937 calls.
Altogether, the Greensboro Fire Department currently operates 27 fire stations staffed by 613 personnel, including 588 sworn firefighters and 25 civilian employees.
The department’s fleet includes 25 fire engines, 11 ladder trucks, one heavy rescue vehicle and five battalion chief vehicles – along with specialized response teams such as hazardous materials units, an urban search and rescue team and a swift-water rescue team.
Keeping all that equipment running requires a substantial budget: For the 2024–2025 fiscal year, Greensboro Fire Department operations came out to $77,264,671, which represented an 8.6 percent increase over the previous year.
The increased funding included an additional $4,573,000 for maintenance and equipment replacement, as well as $100,000 for personal protective equipment and uniforms.
The department also added a new “People and Culture” business partner position, bringing total staffing to 613 employees.
While responding to emergencies in Greensboro, the department also took part in disaster response elsewhere in the state.
After Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina on September 27, 2024, Greensboro deployed 61 firefighters and personnel over nearly a month to assist with rescue and recovery operations.
Members of Greensboro’s Urban Search and Rescue team helped locate victims and search devastated areas in the mountains as part of North Carolina Task Force 6.
In addition to search missions, Greensboro personnel provided fire suppression support in Asheville, where they responded to more than 22 emergency calls, including three fully involved structure fires.
Two Greensboro fire inspectors also assisted with building damage inspections and assessments, evaluating 991 structures.
In addition, personnel helped restore communications infrastructure in Mitchell County by establishing dispatch capabilities and coordinating radio communications among multiple emergency agencies.
While dealing with current fires and medical emergencies, the department is also planning for Greensboro’s future growth.
According to the report, Greensboro’s population is approaching 298,500 residents, with a median age of 34, a median household income of $58,884, and a poverty rate of 16.7 percent.
Fire officials say those factors – along with continued annexations and development – affect where fires are most likely to occur and how the department must deploy resources.
The department reports that the highest fire-risk territories are those served by Stations 52, 7 and 4, especially during the winter months.
Interestingly, the data in the report shows January is the highest-risk month for fires, Saturday is the highest-risk day, and the peak hours for fires are between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
As Greensboro expands, maintaining fast emergency response becomes more challenging. The department’s “standard of cover” requires that the first fire unit – staffed with four firefighters – arrive at a residence within four minutes of travel time 90 percent of the time.
For a moderate structure fire, the department’s goal is to have 17 firefighters on scene within eight minutes 90 percent of the time.
Department officials say that maintaining four firefighters on every apparatus is critical for both safety and effectiveness. According to the report, firefighting operations conducted with five-person crews were 100 percent effective, while four-person crews were 65 percent effective and three-person crews only 38 percent effective.
Looking ahead, the department is already planning for new stations to serve future growth.
The next planned station will be Station 62, which will be built on Short Farm Road as part of the city’s long-range 2040 development plan.
