If you have a few minutes I would love to tell you a little about who we are and what we do.  The basic objectives of all emergency services providers are life safety, incident stabilization and property conservation.  Simply put, people come first! 

Our firefighters at Eastern Pines are our greatest asset; all of the fire trucks and the gear they carry are important tools of the trade but they are useless without well-trained firefighters.  For this reason training receives a lot of attention at Eastern Pines.  I am proud to say that there are now six times more state-certified firefighters on the department than when I joined in 1994.  This represents a significant commitment on the part of those volunteers, as the NC Firefighter II program alone is over 336 hours long. 

Second to training, we are committed to ensuring that our firefighters have the right equipment and tools to handle any emergency.  One example of this commitment came just this year, when our rescue truck was inspected and certified by the North Carolina Association of Rescue and EMS as a “Heavy Rescue.”  This is a significant milestone for Eastern Pines because in doing so we became the only certified Heavy Rescue in Pitt County or any county that borders Pitt – in fact there are only 15 certified Heavy Rescues east of I-95.  This achievement again not only reflected the commitment of the department in purchasing the extensive equipment needed to pass inspection, but it also represented a commitment to training as members attended an additional 170 hours of state certified Vehicle and Machinery Rescue training with some members completing an additional specialty training in Ropes and Structural Collapse.

Thirdly, we strive to provide our citizens with economical fire protection that passes cost savings on to our property owners whenever possible.  By effectively managing our tax district, fund raising and grant writing we feel we are accomplishing our goal to the best of our ability.  The National Volunteer Fire Council’s Fire Department Costing Model Calculator estimates that EPFR saves each person in our district up to $570 - $890 per year for a total annual savings between $5.0 and $7.8 million dollars.  In addition, by achieving a Public Protection Classification rating that is two points better than the minimum standard, property owners are the beneficiaries of significant fire insurance savings.  For example, if you own a stick-built home worth $100,000 you should pay $301 less in fire insurance premiums per year living in our fire district than if you lived in another district that only meets the minimum standard (class 9).  Meanwhile you would only pay $.05 per $100 in property tax value towards fire protection, or approximately $50 per year.  The effective result is $251 in your pocket each year!

In closing, at Eastern Pines our motto is, “Striving to make a difference.”  Everyone here understands that when a citizen finds themselves in need of our services that they are most likely having a bad day.  It is our goal to make a difference for that person; to limit the impact of that incident on that person’s life as much as we possibly can.  Thanks for stopping by and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about your fire-rescue service.

Sincerely,

Nick Pantelidis
Chief, Eastern Pines Fire-Rescue

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