Morehead City Fire-EMS was awarded $288,000 in February by the Carteret County Fire-EMS Commission and the Carteret County Board of Commissioners for equipment that will benefit the city and beyond.

The allocation will be to purchase equipment for the Crystal Coast Water Rescue Team, which is housed within Morehead City Fire-EMS, but includes members from across several different departments.

Of the funding amount, roughly $252,000 will purchase a wide variety of necessary equipment, including a new utility-type vehicle to replace an aged out Ford F-150, a cargo trailer to help store equipment for the water rescue team, and lifesaving equipment and crew support items.

On top of the original amount that MCFD Chief Courtney Wade originally planned to request, he was encouraged to ask for another $36,000 to be utilized toward a drone program within the water rescue team.

This will pay for FAA 107 training for six department members, a DJJI Matrice 30T drone, battery station, backup drone, charging hub, and two training drones, as well as other necessary gear and protections. This will give the water rescue team and the department the capability to use the drone in search and rescue missions, along with a variety of other uses.

Thank you to the Carteret County Board of Commissioners for approving this request, which will help serve Morehead City in times of need, as well as all of Carteret County and other locations when the Crystal Coast Water Rescue Team is deployed.

In addition to that exciting news, future Morehead City Fire-EMS Station 3 is taking shape! In recent weeks, the foundation has been poured and the steel frame for the apparatus bay is going up.