Consultants find rising demand, staffing strain in Forsyth County emergency services; recommend peak‑time ambulances and facility upgrades

Forsyth County officials on Wednesday heard the results of an independent assessment of the county’s emergency services that found rising demand and service pressures across EMS, 9‑1‑1 and fire operations.

The county hired NC Fire Chief Consulting in February to review multi‑year data, interview staff and recommend improvements. “Your demand is over 62,000 incidents per year,” consultant Greg Grayson told the Board, and the firm analyzed more than 240,000 priority incidents to determine system performance.

Why it matters: The consultants reported that Forsyth County’s 90th‑percentile EMS arrival time for priority incidents is 17 minutes, 56 seconds — well above industry benchmarks used for urban areas — and that travel times and call volume have trended upward. Those performance measures, combined with aging vehicles and facility shortfalls, are driving staff workload and retention problems, the report concluded.

Key findings and recommendations

- Demand and response times: The consultant team said call volume has increased and travel time is rising; the county’s calculated 90th‑percentile response for priority EMS incidents is 17:56. The busiest hours are roughly 10 a.m.–6 p.m., and the team recommended targeting peak‑time staffing changes. Grayson: “When you start at midnight ... those look pretty good, right? But when you move up into the higher demands … you’ve quickly exceeded the 12…