Bryson City Fire Department Chief Charles Bryson continues his quest for seven fulltime firefighters, six 24-hour shifts and one superintendent, to provide more adequate fire protection to county residents 24/7, 365 days per year.
“We have four paid fulltime positions and one is vacant,” said Bryson.
Applications are being considered to fill this vacancy.
“We are here Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” Bryson said. “Any time after 4 p.m. on workdays and any time on holidays and weekends, I can’t guarantee you that you are going to have anyone come out.”
A structure fire call came in from Jackson Line within the Tuckasegee District at approximately 10:15 a.m. Saturday, June 28.
“We had enough of our apparatus and people show up,” said Bryson. “We had four trucks in route. We had some firefighters on scene, but our automatic aid procedure is that there are four other departments called. That includes West Swain Fire Department, Alarka Fire Department, Cherokee and Qualla. We got Cherokee and we got Qualla. I got one firefighter from West Swain and two firefighters from Alarka, but we had no apparatus come from those departments. Our insurance rating is based on those departments providing that amount of water on wheels to help us keep our ISO Class 6. Nothing against those departments. What is shows is the problem we have been trying to talk to commissioners about. Our volunteer numbers are dropping, and we can’t guarantee we are going to have people available.”
According to Bryson, approximately 68% of its calls have come from the Tuckasegee Fire District this year.
Bryson presented the department’s monthly fire report to the Town of Bryson City Board of Aldermen during its regular meeting Monday, July 7.
According to the report, the department has responded to 302 calls this calendar year.
There have been 73 fire-related incidents amounting to approximately $6,808,020 with a protected value of $5,945,400 and total loss of $862,620.
In June, the department responded to five hazardous materials calls, five fire calls, 13 calls for service, 13 false alarms, seven motor vehicle accidents and six rescue and EMS calls.
In the meantime, Bryson continues to ask Swain County Board of Commissioners for help funding the department. He added that the city has been highly supportive.
The Town of Bryson City has allocated approximately $573,069 to Bryson City Fire Department in its 2025-26 fiscal year budget.
Swain County Board of Commissioners has allocated approximately $125,000 to the department, an increase from $95,000 the previous fiscal year. The amount requested by the department this year was $225,000.
“The town board has done everything they can to support this community, but when you are only looking at about 1,800 residents in town limits, you’ve got a very limited amount of people you can tax,” Bryson said. “Town residents are paying five or six times more than county residents for fire protection.”
Bryson said he has shown that data to commissioners.
“Let your commissioners know this is not good and this is not right,” said Bryson. “Come together and support us. Let’s work together to find a solution to provide good fire protection to Swain County. I’ve spent one-third of my life trying to make Bryson City Fire Department and its ability to serve Tuckasegee Fire District and the town better.”