The Walkertown Fire Department of today is a product of years of work and cooperation between the City View, Talley’s Crossing, and Walkertown Volunteer Fire Departments that began in the early 1990s and culminated in the three fire departments merging into one organization. The merger plan was voted on by the taxpayers of each district, and on January 1, 2020, we became the Walkertown Fire Department, Inc. The new Walkertown Fire Department is a “combination” department that includes volunteers, part-time personnel, and full-time personnel who work together to use their time, skills, and talents to serve our communities.

This journey involved extensive studies, planning, construction, and implementation of a variety of elements involving fire department leaders, Forsyth County government, the North Carolina Department of Insurance, and neighboring organizations. Unprecedented petition annexations by the Town of Walkertown in the 1990s created a “jigsaw puzzle” of town boundaries. These boundaries presented a service challenge, as one property would be within the town limits while a neighboring property would be outside them in the county. The goal was to design a plan for the future that addressed the concerns of our communities impacted by annexations, highway construction, rapid growth in businesses and populations, and the resulting demands placed on fire, rescue, and EMS services. The new Northeast Fire District of Forsyth County was drawn to include the three previous individual fire districts. This new district was approved by the Forsyth County Commissioners and graded by the N.C. Department of Insurance, resulting in a greatly improved Property Protection Classification (PPC) by the Insurance Service Organization (ISO), which saves property owners money on insurance premiums. In accordance with the merger plan, staffing, response times, and equipment levels were improved.

Funding for the new Walkertown Fire Department comes from the combined City View, Talley’s Crossing, and Walkertown (NE) Fire Tax Districts, as administered by Forsyth County government. The merger equalized and reduced the overall fire tax rate. Funding is also provided by the Town of Walkertown, which contracts with the Walkertown Fire Department, Inc., as the fire department is solely responsible for the ISO Property Protection Classification insurance grade for the entire area within the corporate limits of the Town of Walkertown.

The goal of the merger plan was to create a single organization that could adapt and change with our growing communities to provide an efficient system for delivering fire, rescue, and emergency medical services. It is important to understand that the services provided by all fire departments in Forsyth County depend upon positive relationships with and support from our county, town, and city governments, which are stakeholders and have a responsibility to support the services provided by the fire departments.

Who we are today would not be possible without the founders, board members, citizens, and volunteers who organized the City View, Talley’s Crossing, and Walkertown Volunteer Fire Departments, which served our communities dating back to the early 1950s. Please click on the “Who We Are” section of this website to learn about the rich history of our three founding organizations.