County Executive Henry signs executive order establishing Fire Service Strategic Planning Committe

October 15, 2025

NEW CASTLE – New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry signed an executive order establishing a Fire Service Strategic Planning Committee within the Office of the County Executive this morning at the New Castle County Government Center.

The new 13-member committee will be tasked with developing a strategic plan to bring fire and basic life support systems into the future and study how the county can aid in facilitating or providing shared services to assist fire companies in cost containment and increasing efficiency.

“Hundreds of thousands of county residents rely on hundreds of fire and EMS professionals, both volunteer and paid, to keep our communities safe through any number of emergencies,” County Executive Marcus Henry said. “That protection comes often at great expense to fire companies and it’s beyond time we stepped up to ensure our fire companies are sustainable for the long term.”

The establishment of the committee comes after Delaware’s three counties examined the finances and sustainability of the Delaware Fire and Basic Life Support (BLS) Service across the state in August of 2023 and selected FACETS Consulting, LLP to provide recommendations on how to improve the service’s sustainability.

In December of 2024, FACETS issued a report and recommended that New Castle County work with fire companies to develop strategies to implement its recommendations.

The committee will be made up of six members who have experience managing and supervising the operation of a fire company that provides (or has provided) services in New Castle County, the County Executive or their designee, the County Chief Financial Officer or their designee, the County’s Director of Public Safety or their designee, the County General Manager of Land Use or their designee, the Co-Chairs of the County Council’s Public Safety Committee or their designees, and one member of the public who resides in New Castle County and has not been employed by either the New Castle County Government or a fire company in the last five years.

The committee will submit a written strategic plan including the items detailed in the FACETS report to the county executive and county council no later than March 1, 2026, but may submit supplemental reports or recommendations to both parties prior to the submission of the completed strategic plan.