Wilkes County EMS

11/06/2025

Your Wilkes County EMS service was kept busy in the month of October 2025 responding to citizens in need. Our EMS professionals were pressed into action 1,122 times for the month. Included in this post are two charts that show a breakdown of call types as well as a breakdown of incident counts by hour of day. Below is a summary of call statistics for the month of October:

Total Incident Responses - 1,122

Pre-Hospital Blood Administrations - 5 (Total of 7 Units Administered)

Patients Air Lifted via Med-Evac Services From The Scene - 4

Top 5 Incident Types:
1. Abdominal Pain / Problems
2. Chest Pain / Discomfort
3. Altered Mental Status
4. Unconscious / Fainting
5. Respiratory Distress

Average Response Time - 9:43

Average Hospital Turn-Around Time - 20:14

11/05/2025

Recently, the officers of Wilkes County EMS decided that they wanted to get together and do something to give back to the WCEMS team members as a show of appreciation. This past Monday those very officers came to our Base 1 at 6:00am to make breakfast for the agency employees. By the end of the event approximately 40 team members had an opportunity to enjoy the efforts of these dedicated team leaders.

As an agency we are blessed to have leadership such as these folks. Efforts such as this helps to maintain the family atmosphere that we work so hard to foster within our organization.

11/01/2025

Mark your calendars! SANTA CLAUS is coming to town and he's stopping by Wilkes County EMS for a visit. It's only three weeks away!

11/01/2025

We had a great time seeing everyone at the Creepy Creek Trail in Wilkesboro last night! Thank you to everyone who came out and spent Halloween night with us.

10/23/2025

Please join us in congratulating Andrew Castle, who was recognized today as the recipient of the 2025 Wilkes County EMS Hometown Hero Award. Andrew was nominated by his peers for this award. Over the past couple of years, Andrew has spent many hours of his off-duty time participating in various professional development training programs. In addition, he has taken on the role of helping to mentor and train paramedic students as they conduct their clinical ride time for their EMS training programs. Andrew came to Wilkes County EMS after serving as a paramedic in Union County for two years. He has been with Wilkes EMS for 11 years. In addition to serving as a paramedic, Andrew also serves his community at the Moravian Falls Fire Department in southern Wilkes County. Congratulations, Andrew, job well done!!!

09/27/2025

As we begin our day we would like to share some positive news. The overnight computer models have trended the right direction for Western NC. These model runs have Tropical System Imelda stalling out over the ocean off the coast of South Carolina. If this trend continues, it should limit the anticipated rain amounts in Western NC.

Please keep in mind that today’s weather forecast is calling for scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. Like yesterday, these storms could result in localized flooding. Stay weather aware and continue to monitor the forecast for your area.

Your Wilkes County Emergency Services Team will continue to monitor the situation surrounding Tropical System Imelda. Continue to check back in on this page for updates.

Enjoy your weekend and stay safe.

09/27/2025

Potential Tropical System Imelda

In light of potential tropical system Imelda causing impacts to the Wilkes County region, the Wilkes County Emergency Services Team met at 8:30 AM this morning to begin contingency planning. The team is actively monitoring weather developments and has begun initial planning for potential impacts on our county early next week.

A stalled weather system over our region, not related to Imelda, is currently ushering in bands of heavy rain showers into Wilkes County. This has led to isolated flash flooding in low lying areas. Residents are urged to avoid flooded roadways and stay away from any swollen streams, creeks, or tributaries. By all means, NEVER drive through flooded roadways.

Throughout this weekend, the Wilkes County Emergency Services team members will be closely monitoing this developing situation.

In the meantime, now is the time for you to prepare yourselves and your family. Here are some preparations that you can take:

BE PREPARED:

Stay Informed – Monitor official sources (National WeatherService, local television and radio outlets, weather apps, etc.) for the latest updates on Tropical System Imelda.

Emergency kit ready – Include water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, and essential documents and ensure devices are charged and ready.

Medical needs matter – If you rely on OXYGEN, POWER-DEPENDENT MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, or DAILY MEDICATIONS, make sure you have enough supplies to last at least several days or reach out if you have needs or concerns. If you or a loved one utilizes home oxygen machines, now is the time to ensure that you have enough oxygen tanks on hand in case of a power outage. If you aren’t sure if you have enough back up oxygen tanks, please call your oxygen supplier as soon as possible to get what you need.

Further updates will be provided as we continue to monitor this situation. For now, let’s all focus on being prepared and looking out for one another.

09/06/2025

A Touch-A-Truck event was held today in North Wilkesboro. Wilkes County EMS was honored to take part in this most rewarding event. It is an amazing opportunity to connect with our community’s youth in a fun environment.

We would like to thank the organizers of this event for providing us with this opportunity. If you did not get a chance to visit us, please keep an eye out for the next Toych-A-Truck event.

If you are planning on attending the 2025 FaithFest event, we will be there providing emergency medical coverage for the event. Please make it a point to stop by our First Aid booth and say hello.

08/15/2025

You still have a small window of time to get your interest form submitted. Cut off date is August 31st!

Comunicado de Prensa en españolToday, North Carolina Emergency Management announced that Western North Carolina residents in Helene disaster-declared counties have until August 31 to submit project interest forms through the North Carolina Emergency Management Private Road and Bridge Program.

08/12/2025

Earlier today, your Wilkes County EMS Team came together to stock lifesaving equipment onto our newest piece of EMS apparatus. This ambulance will have the identity of Unit 30 within our system. The North Carolina Office of EMS came to our base this afternoon and inspected this unit so it can officially be placed into service.

This new ambulance is actually a "remount"; meaning that the patient care box was removed from another used Wilkes County EMS ambulance and mounted on this new chassis. The remounted ambulance box was refurbished at Northwest Emergency Vehicles in Ashe County. We recycle our patient care boxes several times in order to be more fiscally responsible and frugal with funding that we receive.

08/08/2025

⚠️ Attention: TS Helene Impacted Individuals⚠️
NC Private Road and Bridge Program will be closing the initial interest form August 31st.
If you have not submitted an interest form and have private road or bridge needing repair, please visit our website ncdps.gov/Helene/PRB or call 844-746-2326.