Winnabow Volunteer Fire Department

08/19/2026

On Training Night, Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Winnabow Firefighters were divided into Pump class led by Firefighter Davis and Forcible Entry training led by Firefighter Kerns.
(Photo Credit: Kourtney Orahood)

08/13/2026

On training night, Tuesday, August 11, Winnabow Firefighter and Instructor Justin Davis led Firefighters through the Driver Operator Pumps class evolutions. This class teaches the fundamentals of operating the pump on a fire engine to charge one or more hose lines to attack the fire. Firefighters rely on the Driver Operator to execute this life and property saving skill to establish a water supply (hydrant), supply water for fire suppression and for protection.

The best part about these classes is going through them with members from our mutual aid partners.

(Photo Credit: Kourtney Orahood)

08/11/2026

To the Property Owners in the Winnabow Fire District:

We wanted to share an important clarification with our property owners. You may be receiving a letter from Brunswick County regarding recent changes to fire fees. We want our residents to know that Winnabow Volunteer Fire Department chose not to request an increase in our fire fee rates for Fiscal Year 2026–2027.

While recent legislation allows fire departments to request higher fire fee limits, it does not automatically increase the fees charged to property owners.

Winnabow VFD’s current fire fee rates will remain unchanged. Property owners within the Winnabow Fire District will not see an increase in fire fees from Winnabow VFD on their 2026 tax bills.

We understand that the information regarding fire fee changes may cause some confusion, and we wanted to make sure our property owners clearly understand how it affects the Winnabow Fire District.

We remain committed to providing dependable fire and emergency services to our community while being responsible stewards of the funds entrusted to our department.

Thank you for your continued support of Winnabow Volunteer Fire Department and the men and women who serve our community.

Winnabow Volunteer Fire
Serving Our Community

08/10/2026

Winnabow Engine 675 with Firefighters Davis, Hamilton, Reshetar and C. Jones were dispatched mutual aid in support of our Leland Fire Department partners.

The Town of Leland Fire Department and auto aid partners responded to a structure fire this afternoon. 1st arriving units found fire coming out of the front of a under construction home. Crews initiated fire attack and quickly brought the fire under control. All other units were cancelled while overhaul and investigation was conducted. Thank you to all of our assisting agencies who helped us on the call.

Agencies responding:
Town of Leland Fire all stations
Navassa Fire
N.W. Fire
Winnabow Fire
New Hanover County Fire St 12
Wilmington Fire St 1 (who in turn handled a wreck for us)
Town of Leland Police Department
Brunswick County EMS

A big thank you to Brunswick County Communications for providing updates. Also to Pender County Fire St 29 for assistance in backfilling.

08/07/2026

On Thursday, August 6, 2026, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Winnabow Chief Mercer (680) and Winnabow Engine 675 with Lieutenant Butchello, Firefighter Faulk and Associate member Sykes were dispatched mutual aid along with other Brunswick County, New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington departments in support of our Leland Fire Department partners on a residential structure fire. Winnabow Engine 675 was operating Charlie-side.

Winnabow Engine 674 with Captain Albosta and Firefighters R. Kye and G. Kye provided standby coverage if additional resources were needed.

Please see the Leland Fire Department page for more information.

(Photo Credit: Sykes)

08/07/2026

On Thursday, August 6, 2026, Winnabow Assistant Chief Lentz and Firefighter B. Jones were honored to attend the Southeastern Community College Summer EMT Celebration Ceremony for the Summer Class of 2026 Graduation.

Your Winnabow Volunteer Fire Department had six Firefighters graduate: Firefighters Brown, Filliben, Flaverney, C. Jones, Norton and Woodring received a certificate signifying their completion of all Emergency Medical Technician requirements.

Our thanks to the Southeastern Community College team for taking such good care of the students and for hosting a wonderful ceremony.

Please join Chief Mercer, Assistant Chief Lentz and the whole Winnabow Volunteer Fire Department in congratulating the Summer EMT Class, our members, our Brunswick County partner members from Bolivia, Supply, Sunset Harbor Zion Hill and Shallotte on their tremendous accomplishments.

(Photo Credits: C. Rave and B. Jones)

07/29/2026

For training night, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, Winnabow Firefighters traveled to the Shallotte Fire Department Training Facility to practice hose and ladder deployments under the watchful eye of Lieutenant Orahood. This provided an opportunity for some of our newest members to get familiar with fireground operations and procedures.

Many thanks to the Shallotte Fire Department for the use of their facility.

(Photo Credit: Kourtney Orahood)

07/22/2026

For training night, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Assistant Chief Lentz led Winnabow Firefighters through Fire Operations 2, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Familiarization. Firefighters donned their air packs and exercised emergency breathing and how to share air in a critical situation.

No training night is complete without Winnabow Engine 675 getting called out for an emergency.

(Please note that fire apparatus numbers have returned back to previous three and four-digit number designations in the County)

07/17/2026

Good Evening, Facebook Friends and Followers,

We are pleased to report that Highway 17 is now open in both directions.

Please continue to use caution while traveling through the area, as Piedmont Natural Gas remains on scene and will be working for an extended period to complete repairs to the damaged gas line.

The Winnabow Volunteer Fire Department would like to extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who assisted during this incident:

Piedmont Natural Gas for their rapid response and professionalism.

Brunswick County Sheriff's Office, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, NC IMAP, and Bolivia Fire Department for their assistance with traffic control and helping maintain a safe work zone throughout the incident.

Brunswick County EMS for providing medical standby for personnel working in the extreme heat.

Brunswick County Emergency Management for their support and coordination.

Tri-Beach Fire Department for staffing our station and providing a standby crew, allowing us to rotate personnel during the incident.

The American Red Cross for providing lunch and refreshments to the crews on scene throughout the operation.

And finally, a special thank you to the dedicated members of the Winnabow Volunteer Fire Department who worked tirelessly to manage this incident from start to finish.

We appreciate the patience and cooperation of our community while crews worked to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

Thank you for your continued support of all the agencies that responded.

07/17/2026