The 2025 Cornelius-Lemley Fire Rescue Fund Drive is under way and mailings have been sent out throughout town. The department, which has served the town and surrounding communities since 1951, is a 501c4 organization that relies on contributions from the town, Mecklenburg County and MEDIC as well as contributions from residents and businesses.

It responded to 3,300 calls for service in 2023: 1,885 were fire calls, while 1,415 were emergency medical calls. Average response time was 5 minutes, 35 seconds.

Photo Credit: NC Firefighters

Quotable

Chief Guerry N Barbee said “In 2023, there were fires in properties totaling $74.7 million. Of that, there was a loss of $3.3 million. That means the department saved $71.4 million in property value. This shows that our firefighters are doing an outstanding job.”

Details

The department continues to transition from a volunteer to a paid municipal department. Currently, there are 82 firefighters in Cornelius: 19 are full-time paid, 55 are part time paid, and 8 are volunteer.

Contributions are tax deductible and may be sent to Cornelius-Lemley Volunteer Fire and Rescue, PO Box 311, Cornelius NC 28031.