HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue has a new home base. Town and department leaders held a ribbon-cutting and dedication on Thursday for the agency’s 17,000-square-foot headquarters.
The Town of Hilton Head Island bought the building in December 2025, and fire rescue administrative staff have worked out of it since February. Rather than clear new land, the town turned a vacant commercial building into the headquarters, a point Mayor Alan Perry highlighted as a win for the island.
The move is the first step in a larger plan. Part of the building will be remodeled so the town’s Emergency Operations Center and the Fire Rescue 911 Communication Center can move in during 2027, putting three key public safety operations at a single address.
Fire Chief Chris Blankenship said gathering those teams together should help them work as one unit and improve emergency service. He noted the dispatchers now work in a windowless building, and the new site gives them a gym and a full kitchen. He also said the department hopes residents will feel welcome to stop by and learn what it does.
The structure is rated to withstand winds of up to 150 miles per hour, an important feature for an island that must keep emergency operations running when hurricanes or tropical storms threaten the coast.
Filed under: Hilton Head Island SC Public Safety News
