The two departments were merged in 1996 as the North Charleston Fire Department. It had a total of 10 fire stations, 10 engines, 3 ladder trucks and 2 squads at that time. In the past 13 years, the department has grown to include new technology and new training. They have thermal imagers in each station, a confined-space rescue team, a hazardous materials team, a marine firefighting team, and each firefighter in the department is trained to a minimum of IFSAC Firefighter II.