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Fire chief outlines 2024 surge in calls, staffing and equipment needs
Summary
Fire Chief Chris Blankenship told the Community Service & Public Safety Committee Hilton Head Fire & Rescue responded to more than 10,000 incidents in 2024, logged a 70% cardiac-arrest survival rate and is asking council for continued CIP and personnel support as calls rise.
Chris Blankenship, Hilton Head Island’s fire chief, presented the department’s 2024 annual report to the Community Service & Public Safety Committee, saying the department handled the busiest year on record with over 10,000 incidents and roughly 14,000 unit responses — an average of 27 calls per day and a roughly 30% increase in call volume since 2020.
Blankenship highlighted several operational metrics: 33 structure fires (one fatality, one injury), a cardiac-arrest save rate of about 70% for the year, nearly $2.5 million collected in EMS revenue with an 81% collection rate, and approximately 35,000 hours of training completed by personnel. He also noted fleet and equipment stress — the town placed eight new pumpers in service at about $631,000 each, and he warned the same trucks ordered today would cost substantially more.
On staffing, Blankenship said the department hired 15 firefighters during the year and remains stretched: “We continue to work off of a very tight budget,” he said, urging council support for operations and CIP replacement schedules. Deputy Chief Johanna Pfister said there is no statutory requirement for hotels or apartments to have AEDs but described the department’s partnership program to place and maintain AEDs in public facilities.
Committee members pressed staff on response-time trends and traffic chokepoints. Blankenship cited alarm-handling adjustments to get better information from callers and pointed to summer traffic congestion — especially the south end and Gumtree corridor — as the largest cause of travel-time delays. He also flagged facility-space limits and gear/vehicle replacement schedules as near-term challenges.
The committee thanked fire staff for the report and indicated ongoing support while noting concerns about traffic mitigation and facilities planning were priorities for follow-up.
