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Fire Training/Fleet

The Operations Division is the largest division within the Hickory Fire Department. It is divided into three battalions: each supervised by two Battalion Chiefs. Each battalion consists of 39 officers and firefighters working out of seven fire stations. Firefighters work an average of 56 hours per week on a three-battalion system.

The Hickory Fire Department is a first responder agency in support of Catawba County EMS and responds to all medical calls within the city. In fact, medical and rescue calls account for the majority of our responses. On most calls, the fire department arrives before EMS and begins initial assessment and treatment of the patient. Frequently, fire department personnel assist EMS further by driving the ambulance to the hospital, allowing both paramedics to remain in the back of the ambulance and provide medical care. Hickory Fire Department trains and operates at the EMT level. Our personnel receive, as a minimum, 36 hours of medical education each year. We also require healthcare provider CPR training. Firefighters also perform vehicle extrication using hand and power tools to remove patients who are trapped in wrecked vehicles.

While emergencies cannot be predicted, the operations division prepares for them. Each crew is responsible for pre-incident plans of specific properties in Hickory. The purpose of the pre-incident plan is to collect information about a facility that can be used by emergency response personnel to assist in determining the resources and actions needed to mitigate probable emergencies at that facility and to facilitate the decision-making process should an incident occur. These plans include information about the building's construction; the type of utilities in the building; location of surrounding fire hydrants; whether the building is protected by a sprinkler system and the location of standpipe connections; types of hazardous materials used and where they are stored; potential environmental or rescue problems; as well as emergency contacts for the business. Buildings are selected based on the degree of hazard and life safety concerns that are particular to that type of occupancy; factory industrial occupancies, hospitals, and nursing homes present a higher degree of risk than a business or mercantile occupancy.

The operations division annually inspects, flows, and records various information on the 2,370 fire hydrants located inside the city limits. Although firefighters check hydrants for various reasons, the utmost priority is to ensure that each hydrant will work in the event of a fire.

In addition to these other activities, firefighters conduct station tours and fire education programs as well as assist with fire investigations.

Hickory Fire Department has six engine companies, two ladder companies, one airport crash/fire/rescue truck, and one rescue unit that are staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Additional apparatus includes a reserve ladder, 2 engine companies, 2 tankers, and an equipment truck.