Fire crews navigate multiple commercial structural fires across Brunswick County while ensuring local elementary schoolers celebrate the end of the school year.
By BC News Staff Writer
SUPPLY, NC — Emergency response crews in Brunswick County faced a rapid-fire succession of structural blazes, mutual aid dispatches, and community outreach events on Friday, May 29, 2026, turning the final day of the school year into a major, multi-jurisdictional balancing act.
First responders crisscrossed the district to battle two distinct commercial building fires in Tri-Beach and Supply, relying heavily on neighboring mutual aid and standby coverage to keep local districts protected during a high-incident afternoon.
Simultaneous Blazes Strike South-Central District
The busiest stretch of the afternoon centered around a pair of working commercial structure fires that heavily taxed regional resources.
In the Supply district, emergency dispatchers issued a Priority 1 emergency response at approximately 3:03 p.m. for a working structure fire located at 2621 Stone Chimney Road, in the corridor between Supply and Varnamtown. Because the 2600 block sits on a primary boundary grid, the incident triggered a dual response bringing both Supply Fire and Rescue (Station 2) and the Bolivia Fire Department to the scene.
Heavy smoke and a large presence of emergency apparatus caused temporary traffic delays along Stone Chimney Road as Brunswick County Sheriff’s deputies and the NC State Highway Patrol worked to redirect traffic. Fortunately, the fire was quickly determined to be minor, and the joint effort allowed crews to rapidly control the scene and mitigate hotspots.
Concurrently, a separate, more demanding commercial building fire broke out down the road in the Tri-Beach jurisdiction. Supply Fire and Rescue deployed heavy resources down to the scene, establishing an aggressive suppression strategy to assist Tri-Beach firefighters with containment.
Standby Coverages Shift Across Jurisdictions
Because Supply Fire and Rescue committed its primary engine and tanker crews to the active commercial fire in Tri-Beach, the department’s home district was left temporarily exposed to secondary emergency calls.
To ensure uninterrupted public safety coverage, Brunswick County’s emergency management network initiated a “move-up” standby protocol. The Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Department (Station 15) deployed an engine crew to sit standby at Supply’s primary fire house on Southport-Supply Road, ensuring that any localized medical or fire calls in the Supply area would receive an immediate response while home crews were tied up.
Last Day of School Celebrations
Despite the heavy fire volume, members of the Supply department successfully fulfilled a highly anticipated community promise.
Firefighters arrived at Virginia Williamson Elementary School in Bolivia to help students celebrate their last official day of the 2025–2026 school year. The crew organized an outdoor “water day” activity, using the department’s equipment to spray water for the children and celebrate the start of summer vacation.
Publisher’s Note: The fluid movement of personnel on Friday highlights the strength of Brunswick County’s mutual aid system. When major incidents occur simultaneously, the strategic relocation of departments like Boiling Spring Lakes to cover neighboring fire houses ensures that municipal protection remains seamless across the county line.
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