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Local firefighters urge commissioners to prioritize pay, staffing and equipment; Corolla chief asks county to preserve $73,000 for engine extras
Summary
Representatives of Currituck volunteer and paid fire services urged the Board to prioritize pay, work‑life balance and staffing after a county pay study; Corolla Fire and Rescue chief said the station has $73,000 in capital funds reserved for extra equipment on a delayed engine.
Representatives of Currituck County’s fire services used the public‑comment period to press the Board of Commissioners on staffing and pay and to request coordination with county decision‑makers.
Brian Mead, president of the local firefighters association, told commissioners that staffing shortages mirror a national trend and urged the board to engage directly with line staff as it addresses pay and work‑life balance: “We show up 24/7… The decisions that are made here affect the work that me and my membership do, whether they’re good or bad.”
Corolla Fire and Rescue Chief Richard Shortway thanked the county for capital funding and told the board that Corolla had set aside $73,000 in its capital account to pay for optional equipment packages—night scanning lights and other extras—on a new engine that has been delayed. Shortway said Corolla relies on a combination of paid personnel and roughly 52 volunteers who support sustained incident response and rehabilitation across the county.
Why it matters: Firefighter staffing, compensation and capital equipment are recurring operational concerns for local public safety and influence response times and service resilience across a county with volunteer and paid forces.
What officials said: - Brian Mead (Currituck County local firefighters association): “I ran on a platform with these 3 things in mind, their pay, their work life, and their work life balance.” - Chief Richard Shortway (Corolla Fire and Rescue): “We were set with a price from the county and the extras that were put on that fire truck… we had saved money and we left it in our capital and there's $73,000 there that's to pay for the extra stuff on that new engine.”
Next steps: Comments entered the record for the board and staff. Commissioners acknowledged the concerns and invited continued dialogue in follow‑up work sessions on budget and public safety priorities.
