Consultants say keep Iredell County'wide service district, prepare for fewer volunteers and costly apparatus

At the Iredell County Board of Commissioners' pre-agenda meeting on Jan. 6, 2026, NC Fire Chief Consulting presented a 700+-page study and a 21-point set of recommendations urging the county to keep its unified service-district model while preparing for falling volunteer ranks, rising apparatus costs and growing service-area complexity.

"You have a really strong group of people out here serving the people of Iredell County," consultant Greg Grayson told the board, noting the team's statewide experience and that "we came to Iredell County looking at this truly as an independent, third-party group." Grayson and Chief Scott Burnett said the report is intended as a strategic, editable plan for county staff and local fire chiefs, not a set of mandates.

Why it matters: the consultants flagged several operational and fiscal risks that could affect emergency response as development and call patterns change. Grayson said apparatus orders commonly exceed $1,000,000 today and lead times can be as long as three years, a factor the report recommends addressing through an apparatus…