Leland Fire/Rescue protects and provides service to approximately 37,000 residents in the Town of Leland, the Town of Belville, and parts of northern Brunswick County.
Use this map to find out if you live in the Leland Fire District.
The Public Protection Classification (PPC) program, also known as the ISO (Insurance Services Office) Fire Score, recognizes the efforts of communities to provide fire protection services for citizens and property owners. Insurance companies use the score to help set home insurance rates since a home that is less likely to be severely damaged or destroyed by fire is less expensive to insure. However, the impact of the ISO score on your homeowner’s insurance policy will vary by each insurance carrier.
An ISO fire insurance rating is a score from 1 to 10 that indicates how well-protected your community is by the fire department. In the ISO rating scale, a lower number is better: 1 is the best possible rating, while a 10 means the fire department did not meet the ISO's minimum requirements or a fire department for that area does not exist. Any area that is more than five driving miles from the nearest fire station within the Town limits is automatically rated a 10.
As of July 1, 2024, the Leland Fire District is a Class 2/10. Leland Fire/Rescue has three separate fire stations. They are listed below with their ISO classifications:
- Town of Leland 2/10
- Belville 2
- Leland Rural 2/9E
All residences in Belville will receive a 2 rating.
Residences in the Town of Leland and Leland Rural that are within 1000 feet of a fire hydrant and 5 miles of a station will receive a 2 rating.
Residences in the Town of Leland that are not within 1000 feet of a fire hydrant or 5 miles of a fire station will receive a 10 rating.
Residences in Leland Rural that are within 1000 feet of a fire hydrant and between 5 and 6 miles from a fire station will receive a 9 rating. Residences more than 6 miles from a station will receive a 10 rating.
Fire fees are a source of revenue charged to both residential and commercial areas within the Town’s fire district. The fees are charged for improved properties (with buildings) based upon the heated square footage of the building, and for vacant land based upon the acreage of the property. The fees are not based on the tax value of the property.
The primary objective of fire fee revenue is to support the operational costs of the Fire/Rescue Department, such as personnel training, equipment, and supplies. Capital expenses, including facilities and apparatus, are funded through separate revenue streams within the General Fund.
As the Fire/Rescue department operational expenditures increase, the feasibility of increasing fire fees to collect additional revenue becomes a consideration.
All capital expenditures are paid for with other General Fund revenues, such as ad valorem property tax or sales tax revenues, rather than fire fee revenue.
For additional questions about fire fees contact:
Malcom Smith, Brunswick County Fire Administrator
910-253-2562
A community’s investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses. Insurance companies use Public Protection Classification information to help establish fair premiums for fire insurance, generally offering lower premiums in communities with better protection. By offering economic benefits for communities that invest in their firefighting services, the program provides an additional incentive for improving and maintaining public fire protection. Essentially, PPC helps communities prepare to fight fires effectively.
According to the ISO's Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS), there are four main criteria to a fire rating score:
- 50% comes from the quality of your local fire department, including staffing levels, training, and proximity of the fire station.
- 40% comes from availability of water supply, including the prevalence of fire hydrants and how much water is available for putting out fires.
- 10% comes from the quality of the area's emergency communications systems (911).
- An extra 5.5% comes from community outreach, including fire prevention and safety courses.
Therefore, investing additional funds into the Fire/Rescue department to have the opportunity to improve the fire rating scores in any of the above-mentioned criteria drives the need to occasionally increase fire fees.
Fire Fees are included in your annual property tax bill from Brunswick County. To estimate your Leland property tax liability, please visit our property tax calculator.