Look ahead 2020 photo illustration

Look ahead: City of Asheville projects and initiatives for the new year

Asheville residents can look upon the new year with optimism. Together, we’ve weathered a pandemic and a vaccine will be available this year. Even so, the City of Asheville’s response to COVID-19 will continue in the new year, in coordination with the state of North Carolina and Buncombe County. Residents can look forward to advances in [...]

fire rubble

Asheville Fire investigators awarded FEMA grant for tools and protective equipment

Asheville Fire investigators will have more tools to dig into debris to determine the origin and cause of fires under a FEMA grant accepted by Asheville City Council during their Sept. 22 meeting. The FEMA’s Fire Prevention & Safety Grant will provide specialized equipment for AFD’s Fire Marshal investigators, such as mobile software for documentation (iPads), [...]

Silt removal on Town Branch

City of Asheville prepares for remnants of Tropical Storm Sally

  The remnants of Tropical Storm Sally are expected to pass close enough to western North Carolina to bring periods of heavy rain Thursday morning into Friday morning. Because of this, the National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch to include Buncombe County.  The City of Asheville is ready. Public Works [...]

AFD rescue truck and trailer

Asheville Fire Department joins Buncombe County search and rescue team on standby for Tropical Storm Isaias

The Asheville Fire Department assembled a team of eight firefighters to join the Buncombe County Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue Team (BCTF2 USAR) on a deployment assignment to Kinston, N.C., for standby to assist in emergency support due to probable effects of Tropical Storm Isaias. Isaias is projected to make landfall off the [...]

Picture of fire truck

Asheville Fire Department maintains accreditation status

 The Asheville Fire Department learned that the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) unanimously approved to grant them accredited status at a public hearing this week in Orlando, Fla.   Accreditation is a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation that enables the department to examine service delivery and compare it to the industry standards. It [...]

Fire Academy photo

Go behind the scenes with Asheville Fire Department’s Citizens Fire Academy

The Asheville Citizens Fire Academy is designed to increase the community’s understanding and awareness of the Asheville Fire Department. This is an amazing opportunity for adults (18 years or older) who live and/or work in Asheville to learn about the philosophies, policies and guiding principles of the Asheville Fire Department and the services we provide [...]

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2020 City of Asheville initiatives: What to look for in the new year

With a new year comes new programs, facility improvements and projects to improve our community. Here’s a look ahead at 10 Asheville City government initiatives as we ring in not only a new year, but a new decade  in 2020. Civic Center gets Harrah’s Cherokee name  The year 2020 will start with excitement for the newly named Harrah’s Cherokee Center — [...]