Safety
The best call is the one we never get.
A working smoke alarm, two ways out, and a plan everyone in the house knows. That's most of it. Here's the rest.
Fall fire season in the Sandhills
Dry leaves, pine straw and wind. Check before you burn.
Fall is woods-fire season in Moore County. Near woods, open burning needs a free N.C. Forest Service permit between midnight and 4 p.m., only natural vegetation may be burned, and nothing should be lit on a windy day. Keep a hose or bucket within reach and stay with the fire until it is out.
Smoke alarms
Ask for a smoke alarm
Crains Creek installs smoke alarms in homes inside the district on request, first come, first served, while the department has them in stock. It doesn't install carbon monoxide detectors. Send the form below, call the station at 910-245-4331, or email crainscreekvfd@pinehurst.net.
How it works
What happens when you call 911
You call. Stay on the line.
Moore County 911 answers. The dispatcher asks where, what, and whether anyone is hurt. Answer the questions; the page is going out while you talk.
The tones go out.
Paid shift members work from Station 23 on a 48/96 schedule, and volunteer members respond from home and work. Dispatch is Moore County 911.
They drive to the station.
Volunteer members respond from wherever they are. This is the part that takes the minutes, and it is why the department needs members who live close.
The first rig is out.
On structure fires, automatic aid partners such as Cypress Pointe, Spout Springs and Fort Bragg are dispatched with us, and we go when neighbors call.
We stay until it's done.
Fire out, patients handed to Moore County EMS, scene safe, and then back to the station to wash hoses and fill air bottles so the next call starts clean.
The honest version of "how long will it take": longer than in a city, and shorter the more volunteers we have within a few minutes of the station. If that bothers you, join.
Make a plan
Your home escape plan
Draw your home, mark two ways out of every room, pick a meeting place outside, and practice it twice a year. Print the sheet and put it on the refrigerator.
Print the escape plan sheet
A one-page grid for your floor plan with the checklist on the side. Nothing is stored; it just prints.
Open the sheetThe three rules
Smoke alarms on every level and in every bedroom, tested monthly. Two ways out of every room, and windows that open. One meeting place outside, and once you're out, stay out.
Hurricane season · June 1 to November 30
When a storm is coming, get ready early and stay put once it hits.
Moore County is far enough inland to miss the surge and close enough to the coast to get the rain, wind and downed trees. Here's what we ask of every household.
Before
Three days of water and food, medicines, flashlights and a charged battery pack. Fill the tank. Trim dead limbs over the house. Know where your water and power shut-offs are.
During
Stay inside, away from windows. Never drive through water on the road; a foot of moving water floats a car. Treat every downed line as live. Call 911 for emergencies only, so the line stays open.
Generators
Outdoors, twenty feet from any door or window, never in a garage or carport. Carbon monoxide is a leading cause of death after storms. Let it cool before refueling.
After
Check on neighbors, especially older residents and anyone on oxygen or powered medical equipment. Report downed lines and blocked roads. Don't use a gas stove or grill for heat.
Where to look
Moore County Emergency Management posts shelter openings and road closures.
Trees and lines
Treat every downed line as live and stay well back. Report it to your power company and call 911 if it's across a road or on a house.
Moore County Emergency Management · Ready.gov hurricane checklist · ReadyNC
Around the house
The short list
Kitchen
Stay with what you're cooking. Keep a lid nearby; sliding it over a pan fire puts it out. Never water on grease.
Heating
Three feet between a space heater and anything that burns. Chimneys cleaned yearly. Ashes in a metal can, outside, away from the house.
Charging
Lithium batteries on a hard surface, never under a pillow or on bedding, and unplugged when full. A swollen or hot battery goes outside.
Burning
Check the banner at the top of this site. Near woods, you need a free N.C. Forest Service permit. Never on a windy day.
Carbon monoxide
A CO alarm near the bedrooms, especially with gas heat, a wood stove or an attached garage. Never run a generator in a garage.
Your address
Reflective numbers at the road, visible from both directions at night. We can't help a house we can't find.