Dare County highlights new EMS stations, improved facilities and partnerships with towns

Dare County commissioners and EMS leaders outlined a series of new and renovated emergency medical services facilities designed to modernize operations and improve response times.

Chairman Bob Woodard cited completed projects including EMS 4 in Southern Shores and a Med Flight building in Manns Harbor, and he said a new Kill Devil Hills station was dedicated last year after the county obtained property through a first‑refusal arrangement. He said the board also purchased land in Nags Head and the old concrete-plant site in Waves to site additional EMS stations.

Deputy EMS Director Terry (last name not specified) and EMS professional Kara Hanahan described features of the new facilities: larger bays to accommodate modern vehicles, exhaust systems to reduce carcinogen exposure, locker and decontamination rooms, gender‑neutral bathrooms, individual bunk rooms, a gym for staff wellness and a new alerting system that uses a red light in bunks to wake crew members more gradually. Terry said the Kitty Hawk facility will serve a high call‑volume area and is expected to reduce response times on the Northern Beaches.

Funding and planning context: officials said many capital projects are included in the county’s five‑year CIP and are funded primarily through the county’s 1% land-transfer revenue and the Water Fund (for water‑system projects); Woodard said the county’s fiscal position and credit ratings help support capital planning. Several projects were described as already under construction with planned openings this summer; no construction contract votes or new appropriations were taken at the meeting.

Why it matters: county officials said modern facilities improve staff safety and training capacity and increase community visibility, which in some cases produced off‑the‑street emergency presentations within a week of opening a new station.