About Us

The Surf City Volunteer Fire Department was founded in 1966 by a group of dedicated people with a desire to serve their community and to provide quality, effective and efficient fire protection services. To see more about us in years past, please visit our History page.

The department is led into action by Chief Demetrius Batts. Chief Batts has been a member of the department for over 20 years. He began as a "junior firefighter" is his younger years and has progressed through the ranks. He previously served as Chief from 1995 to 2001.

The department consists of over 30 dedicated men and women, who are all on a volunteer status. We currently operate out of one station, with 6 pieces of apparatus that are always ready to serve when called upon. To see pictures of our apparatus, visit our Equipment page.

We currently serve the Northeast Pender Fire District and small portions  of the Town of Surf City on the mainland side of the draw bridge. Our ISO rating is currently a 9S, and we are continuously working to improve that rating for our community. 

Our mission is to protect the quality of life for the citizens, property owners, workers and visitors of this area through fire prevention, fire protection, emergency response, water rescue, and educational services. This website is an extension of these services.

Because the area under our jurisdiction is a coastal area, we are presented with some unusual circumstances in the services we provide. We not only need to provide the services listed above, but have the extra responsibility of providing water rescue services and boat fire response to the coastal waters in our area. We also provide our services to the visiting population who may not be aware of the immediate dangers that lurk in our coastal water areas.

We also have the responsibility of serving the immediate area during the hurricanes that strike our area. These responsibilities include protecting the permanent as well as temporary residents and visitors.

We are not just a department that responds to structural fires in our area of coverage. Our non-emergency goal is to develop various programs that meet the unique needs of our community.

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