Mount Mourne Fire Department

Serving Since 1955

History

The History Of The Mount Mourne Fire Department

On March 17, 1955 the Mount Mourne Fire Department was chartered. There were nine members elected to the Board of Directors, and four members were elected to a community relations board. In April of 1955 there were arrangements made by the committee to ask homeowners for dues in the community. The decided cost was $5.00 per year per homeowner.

In May of 1955, two board members went to the Iredell County Board of Commissioners with a petition for a fire truck. A truck was given to the department, a Dodge pumper that had been used by the Troutman Fire Department. The fire department membership outfitted the pumper with needed equipment. The Fire Chief and Assistant Chief recruited residents of the Mount Mourne community to become firemen, of which 20 men were selected. The fire department by-laws were created by 1/3 of the membership. Training was to be taken with the Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Mooresville and Statesville Fire Departments. A Ladies Auxiliary was also formed at this time.

Next would be a building to house the equipment. In August of 1955, a two-bay building was built. In 1956, a 1936 Dodge truck was purchased from the Pepsi-Cola Company, and our membership built the truck into a 1,000 gallon tanker and equipped it. During these years, there was no alarm notification system. The citizens of the Mount Mourne community were given the names and phone numbers of the firemen to call in case of an emergency. Once a member was notified, he was responsible for notifying the other members of the department. The fire department would host hot dog suppers and annual barbecues to assist with funding. Many of these were held in the Mount Mourne School cafeteria.

In May of 1958, it was decided to map out an area for which the fire department would be responsible to protect. This was decided to be a 4-mile radius from the fire house. An alarm system was the next priority. In 1962, an air horn was installed, which would be used until 1974 when an electric 10-horsepower siren was installed. In 1964, a second pumper was bought. This was a new Dodge pumper with a pumping capacity of 750 gallons per minute. In 1967, mobile radios were installed in the trucks, with a base radio at fire house.  Nine members were issued monitors.

In 1969, a 1,200 gallon Ford tanker was purchased, and in 1975, a new 1,200 gallon Ford Tanker was purchased. Also in 1975, an additional 2,852 square feet was added to the fire house. In 1976, the ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating was increased to 9a. In March of 1977, a 1975 brush unit was purchased, as well as a 1962 Ford Van to function as an equipment truck. In 1979, additional monitors were purchased. 22 monitors were now being utilized by the fire department to notify members of calls for service. The yearly average number of calls for service at this time was 22. A Junior Firefighter program was created in 1979 with 15 Junior Firefighters. To date, the Junior Firefighter program is still active.

When the department was chartered in 1955, there were approximately 450 dwellings and businesses. In 1984, a new Ford pumper was bought to serve the needs of the growing community, which was now up to about 1,500 dwellings, businesses and several industries. In 1984, the fire department successfully petitioned the citizens of the Mount Mourne community to become a rural fire protection district. In 1985, a medical first responder program was created. This would be the first in Iredell County for dedicated fire departments. In 1989, a 1,500 gallon Mack Tanker was purchased. In 1991, a Ford Explorer was purchased with grant money from the Lowrance Hospital to answer medical calls. Mount Mourne was the first department in Iredell County to carry automated external defibrillators. In 1994, a new Ford Brush Truck was placed in service, and in 1996, a 1,250 gallon Ford Tanker was placed in service. During the late ’90s, many of the older apparatus, including the 1964 Dodge Pumper, would be taken out of service and sold.

Since the department has been charted there has been 8 Fire Chiefs: George Woodfin 1955-1956, Lewis Edmiston 1956-1967, Charles E King 1967-1971, Phiefer Johnson 1971-1980, Steve Knox 1980-2004, Blake Lawing 2004-2006, Jeff Richardson 2006-2013, and Roger Hoover 2013 to present. In 2000, the Board of Directors approved a request from Fire Chief Steve Knox to employ one part-time firefighter position to work Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM. Beginning August 1, 2000, Mount Mourne was the first volunteer fire department in Iredell County to staff with part-time firefighters.

In 2001, a Spartan/Marion Pumper was purchased. In 2002, Mount Mourne Fire Department participated in the North Carolina Department of Insurance Rural Rating Inspection, which resulted in the ISO rating being lowered to Class 7. In 2003, construction began on our new fire house, which was built on 11 acres of Pre-Revolutionary War property dating back to 1764. The new firehouse is located at 1577 Mecklenburg Highway, which is at the intersection of Mecklenburg Highway and Langtree Road. The new fire house was completed, dedicated , and occupied in January of 2004.

Shortly after moving into our new station, a second part-time firefighter position was added on July 1, 2004. In 2005, a Spartan/Marion 1,000 gallon Rescue Engine was purchased. This truck currently serves our community, and is designated as Engine 2. In 2010, a Mack/Baker 75′ Aerialscope was purchased to improve fire protection to the area. In 2012, a Spartan/Marion 2,500 gallon Tanker was purchased. This truck also currently serves our community, and is designated as Tanker 1. Going into the 2010’s, our department’s call volume continued to increase. As a result of the increasing call volume and growing community, night and weekend staffing with volunteer duty crews were implemented. The weekday part-time staff was increased to three firefighters beginning on July 1, 2013. On December 17, 2013, the Iredell County Board of Commissioners granted Mount Mourne Fire Department rescue district status. This makes Mount Mourne Fire Department a dedicated rescue squad, and responsible for all rescue services in our district. On July 1, 2015, we began staffing with part-time firefighters 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In 2016, the department participated in a North Carolina Department of Insurance Rural Rating Inspection. The results of this survey was lowering our ISO rating to Class 4.

Our 2001 Spartan/Marion Engine was replaced on October 21, 2018 with a 2018 Seagrave Marauder Pumper, currently serving our community, and designated as Engine 1. Engine 1 has a 750 gallon water tank, and a 2,000 gallons per minute pump. On May 21, 2020, our 1990 Mack/Baker Aerialscope was replaced with a 2020 Seagrave Carolina refurbished 1997 Seagrave 75′ Aerialscope, currently serving our community, and designated as Tower Ladder 1. Tower Ladder 1 originally served as FDNY’s Tower Ladder 17, where she saw many years of service, including responding to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

 On September 22, 2022, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey congratulated Mount Mourne Fire Department on our recent improvement to our fire suppression rating. State officials with the North Carolina Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal, after a routine inspection, awarded our department with a lowered ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating of 2 out of 9. This rating would go into effect on January 1, 2023.

From January 2023 until August 2023, our station underwent a total interior renovation. An addition was added onto the south side of the building, which would serve as our living quarters until the station renovations were completed, and would then be made into a gym for the membership. The entire northside of the building would be renovated to host larger rooms to accommodate for the growing community, call volume, and members of our department. Our station would remain closed to the public during this time, but is now reopen for use or viewing.

In late 2024, the Mount Mourne Fire Department underwent an organizational restructuring, which led to the development of its three current divisions: the Operations Division, the Marine Division, and the Training Division. During the mid-2020s, we received several capital improvements, including a replacement apparatus, two entirely new pieces of apparatus, and a major addition to the Training Division in the form of a new burn building.

In September 2024, we took delivery of our first-ever piece of aquatic apparatus for the Marine Division: a 2024 Whaly 16′ 500R80, manufactured by Whaly Boats in Rijen, Netherlands. The vessel was officially designated Marine 1 but was quickly nicknamed “Little Tikes” by the membership, with stickers placed on the forward side of the bow and helm reflecting the nickname.

Marine 1 was designed for quick-launch rescue operations on both Lake Norman and Lake Davidson and is equipped with rescue and emergency medical equipment, as well as a Humminbird APEX sonar system.

In September 2025, the Training Division received its largest capital improvement in the department’s history: a three-story training structure constructed from stacked and interconnected steel shipping containers and repurposed for live-fire training. Training Division officers worked closely with Forge Fire & Co. in Perrysville, Ohio, to design a training structure that reflects the types of buildings and occupancies found within our community, allowing our members to continually build upon their skills and better prepare to serve the community.

The building is configured to replicate several different residential and commercial occupancies. The first floor is designed to resemble a single-story, ranch-style home. The second floor is divided into two distinct occupancies, with one side capable of functioning as the second floor of a single-family dwelling and the other configured to resemble a multifamily dwelling or apartment building. The third floor consists of multiple rooms arranged along a straight hallway, similar to a typical office environment.

Additional features of the training structure include multiple burn chambers on the first and second floors for training under live-fire conditions, a commercial-style stairwell with a functioning fire department connection (FDC) and dry standpipe system, a forcible entry prop located at the front entrance, a vertical ventilation prop with an adjustable roof pitch, and platforms designed for rope rescue training.

In March 2026, a second vessel was added to the Marine Division’s fleet: a 2025 Stanley 32′ Bullnose Landing Craft, manufactured by Stanley Boats in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, and designated as Fire Boat 1.

Fire Boat 1 was acquired to address mobile water supply challenges during firefighting operations at lakefront properties, as well as boat and marina fires where extended hose line stretches may otherwise be required. The vessel is equipped with a dedicated onboard engine capable of supplying 1,500 GPM of water through a master stream device and multiple hose line discharges.

In addition to its firefighting capabilities, Fire Boat 1 is equipped for rescue and emergency medical operations on Lake Norman. Rescue features include emergency medical and rescue equipment, two Humminbird APEX sonar consoles, a hydraulically operated bow gate for beaching operations, winch-driven port and starboard dive doors for rescue swimmers, and a FLIR camera to assist with nighttime operations. The vessel also features a manual winch crane to support interoperability during multi-agency operations involving equipment such as a towfish or remotely operated vehicle (ROV).

On May 7, 2026, our 2005 Spartan Gladiator/Marion Rescue Engine was replaced by the newest addition to our fleet: a 2025 Seagrave Marauder Rescue Pumper, designated as Engine 2. The new apparatus continues the department’s tradition of providing both fire suppression and heavy rescue capabilities to our community.

Engine 2 is equipped with a 750-gallon water tank, a 2,000 GPM single-stage pump, and a full complement of rescue equipment meeting the heavy rescue requirements established by the North Carolina Association of Rescue and Emergency Medical Services (NCAREMS).

As of September 2026, our station is currently staffed with part-time Firefighters/EMTs around the clock. We currently answer nearly 1,700 calls for service each year, which can be viewed and broken down on the “Our Department” page. Future projects currently include a large equipment overhaul for the Training Division, and a staffing model for the Marine Division.

Curious about how much our area has grown over the last 10 years? Check this out!

YearTotal Number Incidents
01/01/2026 – 07/31/2026988
20251,675
20241,596
20231,491
20221,715
20211,496
20201,303
20191,422
20181,315
20171,105
20161,125