Apex, North Carolina, is a town of approximately 30,000 residents in the central part of the State and the fastest growing suburb in North Carolina.  The town is located in Wake County south of the capital, Raleigh.  This area of North Carolina is growing at the rate of two to three new residents every day in the expanding capital metropolitan area.

The town operates three fire stations with a combination career and volunteer system.  There are 27 full-time employees, 12 part-time employees, and 15 volunteers in the Apex Fire Department (AFD).  Minimum shift strength is eight, including a shift commander.  The department staffs three engine companies, one tower ladder company, and other support equipment.  The fire department provides fire suppression, rescue, first-responder emergency medical service (EMS), and operations-level hazardous materials (haz mat) response.  The fire chief is also the town’s emergency manager.

The Apex Police Department (APD) has an authorized strength of 51 sworn officers.  APD is the agency that staffs the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) where 9-1-1 calls are received and responders are dispatched.  The PSAP is located at police headquarters.  Fire, EMS, and police are all dispatched from the PSAP.  The city has a modern computer-assisted dispatch (CAD) and 800 mHz radio system.  The typical patrol squad is staffed with eight or nine officers, including supervisors.

Emergency medical services are provided by Apex EMS, which is a city agency separate from the fire department.  Originally formed in 1971 as the Apex Rescue Squad, Apex EMS no longer provides rescue or extrication services.  Those services are provided by the fire department.  EMS has 6 fulltime employees, 20 part-time employees, and 15 volunteer members.  The fleet of three ambulances and two support vehicles operates from two buildings: the first is the EMS station located in Apex; the second building has a paramedic-level ambulance and is located at the Fairview Fire Department 6 miles east of town on Highway 1010.  The usual shift strength is two paramedic ambulances.