Morrisville fire chief presents interactive community risk assessment, seeks consent adoption

Battalion Chief Catherine Boyle presented the Morrisville Fire Department's updated Community Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover, describing a new interactive story map and data-driven approach the department says will improve planning and response.

Boyle, who said she was speaking on her one-year anniversary in the role, told the council the assessment draws on vetted sources including FEMA's National Risk Index, NOAA, census data and the town's own incident reports to map planning zones and identify local risk patterns. She highlighted climate- and transportation-related risks and said response metrics — effective response force, turnout and arrival times — have shown steady improvement.

The presentation emphasized a move from static PDF reports to a living, web-based story map so staff and the public can explore risk by census tract and planning zone. Boyle said a new community risk reduction staff member will use live data to prioritize interventions and that the accreditation peer review now under way will conclude in mid-May; she asked the council to consider adopting the Standards of Cover by consent at the April 28 meeting.

Council members asked about how the data will be used across jurisdictions and how climate-related risks are measured. Boyle said the standard of cover addresses Morrisville-specific performance benchmarks while effective response force metrics already account for mutual aid from Cary and Apex; she said the department is working with regional partners to standardize key metrics where appropriate. On climate, she pointed to the National Risk Index's financial-impact and hazard categories and invited council members to explore the map for parcel- and tract-level detail.

Boyle told the council the department now runs annual gap reports and quarterly reviews that feed into continuous improvement of operational benchmarks. She said the peer review's document phase ends around May 15 and a site visit could follow this summer before the Commission on Fire Accreditation International meets in August.

The council did not vote on the presentation itself; staff expects to return on April 28 with the Standards of Cover for adoption by consent. If adopted, staff will post the community risk assessment and the adopted standards on the town website and share follow-up materials with the council and public.