Fire Departments Might Merge
By Loreal Andrews

A “hot” merger could be in the works here in Chapel Hill.

City officials are exploring the possibility of merging the Carrboro and Chapel Hill fire departments. The stations are less than two miles apart and have a good deal of overlap.

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton recently proposed the union to resolve the town’s need for a new fire chief and fire station. UNC-CH recently leased land to Carrboro to build a new fire station for $2.5 million.

Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan Jones is open to the idea, but not ready to commit to it.

“Before I could give an opinion on that whether it would be beneficial or not, we're going to have to examine those issues,” Jones said.

This is the second attempt to join the two departments. Carrboro backed out of the first deal about ten years ago because officials said that it would not be a good deal for the town.