{"id":10763,"date":"2026-07-22T20:20:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/?p=10763"},"modified":"2026-07-23T13:16:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:16:57","slug":"brunswick-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/brunswick-rescue\/","title":{"rendered":"Brunswick County EMS and Rescue Squad History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-07-22-brunswick-banner.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10764\" src=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-07-22-brunswick-banner.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"671\" srcset=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-07-22-brunswick-banner.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-07-22-brunswick-banner-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-07-22-brunswick-banner-730x408.jpg 730w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Presenting research notes and more on the history of rescue services and EMS in Brunswick County.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>View family tree graphic: <a href=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/history\/charts\/content\/brunswick-ems-chart.jpg\">JPG<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/history\/charts\/content\/brunswick-ems-chart.pdf\">PDF<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/history\/ems\/brunswick\/research-notes.pdf\">Read research notes<\/a>\u00a0(PDF)<\/li>\n<li>View various newspaper clippings in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/folders\/1ysDKnKt2EKOiPibpS07qn4QVwcMbjsiV?usp=drive_link\">Google Drive folder<\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/history\/ems\/\">See more Legeros EMS histories<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Related Social Postings<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile\/100064768204023\/search\/?q=Brunswick\">Legeros Fire Line on Facebook &#8211; Search For &#8220;Brunswick&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Examples:\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/15yutRXYpfw\/\">Oak Island EMS &#8211; Old Building<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/1HWPDsPpGC\/\">Shallotte Rescue &#8211; Chevy Suburban<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/1JJW3E43DK\/\">Southport Rescue &#8211; Vintage Vehicles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/18nEZyK1rL\/\">Sunny Point &#8211; Early Ambulance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/1EjC6h6eQr\/\">Town Creek Rescue &#8211; First Ambulance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/161GYTAjz2C\/\">Various &#8211; Then and Now Map<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Short Version<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1950 to 1959<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1955 \u2013 Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point opened, had ambulance.<\/li>\n<li>1958 &#8211; Southport Rescue Squad organized. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1959 &#8211; Kilpatrick&#8217;s Funeral Service (Southport), Gilbert&#8217;s Funeral Service (Southport), Peacock Funeral Home (Shallotte) operating ambulance services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>1960 to 1969<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1967 &#8211; Long Beach Fire Department renamed Long Beach Fire Department &amp; Rescue Squad. The department had one ambulance.<\/li>\n<li>1968 &#8211; Leland Rescue Squad organized. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1968 &#8211; Shallotte Rescue Squad organized.<\/li>\n<li>1968 &#8211; Town Creek Rescue Squad organized. \u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>1970 to 1979<\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1972 &#8211; Southport RS added their first rescue boat.<\/li>\n<li>1973 &#8211; Long Beach Rescue Squad created, separated from fire department. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1975 &#8211; Care Ambulance Service in Southport started operation.<\/li>\n<li>1976 &#8211; Coastline Rescue Squad organized. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1976 &#8211; Southport RS started ambulance service, after local private service ended operations. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1978 &#8211; Boiling Spring Lakes Rescue Squad started operation. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1979, circa &#8211; Waccamaw Rescue Squad organized. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1979 &#8211; County granted franchises to several squads: Coastline, Leland, Long Beach, Shallotte, Southport, Town Creek, and Waccamaw. [SN\/12\/4\/79]\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>1980 to 1989<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1981 \u2013 Calabash Rescue Squad organized.<\/li>\n<li>1986 &#8211; Navassa Rescue Squad organized.<\/li>\n<li>1987 &#8211; Bald Head Island Rescue Squad organized. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1988 &#8211; Navassa RS ceased operating.<\/li>\n<li>1989 \u2013 Calabash RS renamed Calabash EMS.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>1990 to 1999<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1990 &#8211; Southport RS became first squad in the state with a certified water ambulance. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1991 &#8211; First full-time county rescue workers started working. Two-person teams rotate among some of the squads. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1992 &#8211; County started 911 service.<\/li>\n<li>1992 &#8211; Brunswick County EMS started service. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1992 &#8211; Navassa Volunteer EMS started operating. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1994 \u2013 Shallotte RS opened substation on Ocean Isle Beach. \u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1995 &#8211; Bald Head Island RS named Bald Head Island EMS by this time. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1997 &#8211; Oak Island Water Rescue Team Inc. organized. \u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1998 \u2013 Leland Fire\/Rescue created as a merger of the private fire and rescue departments. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>1998 &#8211; Town of Long Beach activated Squad 24, an ambulance staffed with four full-time town employees who were EMTs, to provide day-time coverage.<\/li>\n<li>1999 &#8211; Boiling Spring Lakes RS had ceased operating.<\/li>\n<li>1999 &#8211; BCEMS opened opened four substations. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>2000 to 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2003 &#8211; By this time, Oak Island RS had merged with Oak Island FD to create Oak Island Fire &amp; EMS.<\/li>\n<li>2003, Jun &#8211; By this time, Oak Island VRS was named Oak Island Volunteer EMS. [SPP, 6\/16\/03]<\/li>\n<li>2005, circa \u2013 Town of Long Beach medics merged with fire department. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>2006, circa \u2013 Oak Island (Volunteer) EMS ceased operating.<\/li>\n<li>2006 or 2007 \u2013 Town Creek RS ceased operating.<\/li>\n<li>2007 \u2013 Shallotte RS merged with county.<\/li>\n<li>2007 \u2013 St. James FD added ambulance service.<\/li>\n<li>2009 \u2013 Bald Head Island EMS merged with fire into Bald Head Island Public Safety.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>2010 to 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2012 \u2013 Southport RS crash truck transferred to fire department, during consideration of merging the fire and rescue departments.<\/li>\n<li>2014 &#8211; Oak Island Fire &amp; EMS started providing paramedic-level ambulance service. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>2015 \u2013 Calabash EMS merged with the county.<\/li>\n<li>2015 &#8211; Oak Island Fire &amp; EMS sold one of two ambulances, BCEMS took over as primary EMS transport service on island. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>2015 &#8211; \u00a0Southport Fire &amp; EMS created after squad merged with fire department. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>2017 &#8211; Oak Island Fire &amp; EMS ceased providing transport services.<\/li>\n<li>2017 \u2013 Sunny Point EMS ambulance now ALS. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>2017 \u2013 Leland Fire\/Rescue merged with the town.<\/li>\n<li>2019 &#8211; Leland Fire &amp; EMS ambulance service absorbed by county. \u00a0<\/li>\n<li>2019 &#8211; Coastline RS ceased operating.<\/li>\n<li>2022 &#8211; Oak Island Fire &amp; EMS ceased providing paramedic first responder service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div data-animation=\"no-animation\" data-icons-animation=\"no-animation\" data-overlay=\"on\" data-change-size=\"\" data-button-size=\"0.7\" style=\"font-size:0.7em!important;display:none;\" class=\"supsystic-social-sharing supsystic-social-sharing-package-flat supsystic-social-sharing-content supsystic-social-sharing-content-align-left\" data-text=\"\"><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Facebook\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fbrunswick-rescue%2F\" data-main-href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u={url}\" data-nid=\"1\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"10763\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Brunswick County EMS and Rescue Squad History\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-facebook\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fbrunswick-rescue%2F&text=Brunswick+County+EMS+and+Rescue+Squad+History\" data-main-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url={url}&text={title}\" data-nid=\"2\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"10763\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Brunswick County EMS and Rescue Squad History\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-twitter\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Pinterest\" href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/link\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fbrunswick-rescue%2F&description=Brunswick+County+EMS+and+Rescue+Squad+History\" data-main-href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/link\/?url={url}&description={title}\" data-nid=\"7\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"10763\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Brunswick County EMS and Rescue Squad History\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-pinterest\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Presenting research notes and more on the history of rescue services and EMS in Brunswick County. Resources View family tree graphic: JPG\u00a0|\u00a0PDF Read research notes\u00a0(PDF) View various newspaper clippings in\u00a0Google Drive folder.\u00a0 See more Legeros EMS histories. Related Social Postings Legeros Fire Line on Facebook &#8211; Search For &#8220;Brunswick&#8221; Examples: Oak Island EMS &#8211; Old &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/brunswick-rescue\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading &lsquo;Brunswick County EMS and Rescue Squad History&rsquo; &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n<div data-animation=\"no-animation\" data-icons-animation=\"no-animation\" data-overlay=\"on\" data-change-size=\"\" data-button-size=\"0.7\" style=\"font-size:0.7em!important;display:none;\" class=\"supsystic-social-sharing supsystic-social-sharing-package-flat supsystic-social-sharing-content supsystic-social-sharing-content-align-left\" data-text=\"\"><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Facebook\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fbrunswick-rescue%2F\" data-main-href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u={url}\" data-nid=\"1\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"10763\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Brunswick County EMS and Rescue Squad History\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-facebook\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fbrunswick-rescue%2F&text=Brunswick+County+EMS+and+Rescue+Squad+History\" data-main-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url={url}&text={title}\" data-nid=\"2\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"10763\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Brunswick County EMS and Rescue Squad History\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-twitter\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Pinterest\" href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/link\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fbrunswick-rescue%2F&description=Brunswick+County+EMS+and+Rescue+Squad+History\" data-main-href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/link\/?url={url}&description={title}\" data-nid=\"7\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"10763\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Brunswick County EMS and Rescue Squad History\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-pinterest\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10763"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10763"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10776,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10763\/revisions\/10776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}