Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill Volunteer Fire Department

What This Data Tells You About Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill Volunteer Fire Department

Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill Volunteer Fire Department operates as a fire department in Sylva, within Jackson County, and the HIFLD and USFA records give a precise structural picture of its response capacity. The department reports unreported personnel, no station count on file, no truck inventory reported. EMS capability is listed as not provided.

Benchmarking against the state gives this profile context. North Carolina has 1,534 registered fire departments and 40,350 total personnel, averaging roughly 26 staff per department. Direct staffing comparisons are limited where personnel counts are not reported. The state records about 62,800 fires, 131 fire deaths, and 57% volunteer coverage each year, which shapes training, funding priorities, and mutual-aid patterns felt at every department in the state.

No FEMA AFG or SAFER grant awards are recorded against this department's FDID in USAspending data, which is common for smaller or volunteer-heavy organizations that lean on state and local funding instead.