2 Wake County fire departments merging into one

WAKE COUNTY, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Two fire stations in Wake County have become one.

The Stony Hill Rural Fire Department and the Bay Leaf Volunteer Fire Department are partnering up to become the Northern Wake Fire Department.

The fire stations will still be located right where they are now, but the three Bay Leaf stations are joining resources with the two Stony Hill stations under the new name to serve a combined 35,000 people.

They'll share people, stations, and equipment.

Firefighters at Stony Hill had aerial practice on Bay Leaf's ladder truck - equipment they didn't have access to before - to prepare for the merge.

It's a project two years in the making as the five stations get ready to cover a 70 square-mile area.

"I'm all for it," local resident John Bell said. "Whatever works."

Neighbors said they welcome the change and hope it will help people in need get help faster.

"I love it. I think it's a wonderful idea," local Todd Gould said. "In my last house I actually watched them CPR and bring my neighbor across the street back to life and it was the most amazing thing."

The Northern Wake Fire Department will officially go into effect on July 1.

You can read more about the Northern Wake Fire Department here.