North Myrtle mayor: fire-damaged homes occupied. What to know about city firefighting.

A Wednesday morning blaze in the city’s Cherry Grove section damaged multiple homes that Mayor Marilyn Hatley told The Sun News were occupied.

Public safety in North Myrtle Beach is an expensive proposition, accounting for 43 percent of the city’s total $131.3 million budget this year, with just more than $5 million set aside for fire protection and response.

The city of 17,000 employs 60 fire/rescue personnel, up from 49 in 2020. Its 57 firefighters are split into three shifts, each working 24 hours on duty and 48 hours off.

As a cost savings measure the city in 2021 stopped cross-training its first responders. That year, police officers responded to three out of 3,570 fire incidents, and cross-trained firefighters responded to six police calls out of 19,211, according to city data shared at a council workshop.

With 1,572 fire hydrants spread across North Myrtle Beach, suppression and inspection is a big part of the job, and city leaders allocated $61,000 for those efforts in the current year’s budget that ends June 30.

The city is also continuing its 10-year replacement plan, with one new piece of equipment being purchased every two years.

This is a developing story.

This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 9:15 AM.