UPDATE: Rainy weather has shut down The Trail of Terror for the rest of the season. Jennings reports there is two inches of standing water on the trail, making it unsafe for the department to open. It will return again next year.

An hour before opening on Saturday night, there was one last walk-through of the Triangle Fire Department’s outdoor Trail of Terror in Bayboro.

All the animatronic puppets were examined  to make sure they’re operational. Movement sensors were checked. The walking path was cleared of any debris. And the fog and snow machines were tested one more time.

Inside the fire station, volunteer firefighters and their families got into character, dressing as scary clowns or elves, wearing ghillie suits to blend in with the maze, or costumed as horror movie icons such as Jason Voorhees from “Friday the 13th” or the monster from “Jeepers Creepers.”

They were getting ready to scare the 200 or so people who walked through the Trail of Terror over the next several hours.

The trail was a flop when it began, said volunteer firefighter Steven Jennings; but that was due to timing. It was first staged during the early part of the pandemic, when outdoor activities were one of the safest community activities available.

“ We wanted something that families could get out and do and not have to worry about the quarantine or social distancing,” Jennings said.

That, and the department was trying to reconnect with its community.

“When I got in the department 22 years ago, our sole funding source was doing fundraisers,” Jennings said.

Pamlico County’s fire departments did not receive regular funds from the county budget at that time. “We were doing barbecue plates and chicken plates,” he said. “We were all burned out on it; it was two and three times a month.”

Once the county initiated a fire tax, the department quit its food fundraisers. But the department  quickly realized just how far out of touch it was getting from the community.

“There was no public interaction outside of driving by and seeing us at a car wreck or at a house fire,” Jennings said.

The Trail of Terror was created with the intention of giving members of the public an experience while reintroducing them to their local volunteer fire department. And if the trail could make enough money to buy new equipment for the firehouse, all the better.

In 2024, its fourth year, the event brought in approximately $15,000. That’s about the amount it takes to outfit a firefighter with new gear.

However, the most wanted item on the fire department’s wishlist is new volunteers.

“Volunteerism is just on the decline,” Jennings said. “Out of all the firefighters in America, two-thirds are still completely volunteer.”

Jennings joined the department when he was 16, as a junior member, learning the equipment, the rules and procedures, how to take care of the trucks. It was all in preparation for becoming a full firefighter. Jennings credits his early involvement in the department for keeping him out of trouble as a teen. There are few teen volunteers these days, he said.

The ones that do volunteer often have a family member already involved in public service, and those are few and far between, Jennings said.

When asked why he’s been involved for so long, Jennings has two simple answers: He’s a self-described adrenaline junkie, and the department is like family.

“It’s very much the thrill of what am I going into,” he said.

He compares that feeling to going through the Trail of Terror, looking for the thrill of adrenaline. “You want to be there and make sure you’re in the middle of it, and see what’s going on,” he said.

And what is the reward for being in the middle of the action? Jennings said it’s helping the people they encounter when others cannot. If they arrive at a house fire, he explained, he knows he can go into that fire and save the pets, the heirlooms, the family history, sentimental items that might otherwise be lost.

It’s all about helping families who find themselves in terrifying situations, and reconnecting with the people saved from wrecks and accidents to find them alive and doing well.

The fire department itself is a community. During Hurricane Florence in 2018, firefighters from New York came to Pamlico County to offer disaster relief. They were here for several weeks while county utilities were restored and cleanup was underway. “We still keep in touch with those guys,” Jennings said.

Those connections are strong and built through the shared experience of being a firefighter, Jennings said. The connections can forge new life and new professional relationships beyond the county, leading to opportunities across the country.

But it starts locally. “You have to have some skin in the game,” Jennings said. “If you’re not pleased with the service you’re getting, please come and show us how to do it better.”

That sentiment is on display at the end of the Trail of Terror. A sign with a QR code says, “Tell us how we did,” so the department can make next year’s event better.

The department, Jennings said, is here to serve. But the number of volunteers is dwindling. If there are not enough firefighters to staff the departments and substations, they might have to close. Goose Creek Island Volunteer Fire Department in Lowland is facing this future.

When departments are understaffed or have to close, other departments and substations have to respond. A lack of volunteer firefighters in a community can increase response times and negatively affect local fire tax rates.

Jennings said his department is trying to stave that off and hopes reaching out to residents through events like the Trail of Terror also entices them to take a closer look at joining the fire department. Because those who enjoy the adrenaline rush of a haunted trail might also enjoy the rush of heading into the unknown to help, Jennings said.

The Trail of Terror will be open from 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15.

To learn more about volunteering as a firefighter or as part of the support staff, contact the Triangle Fire Department at 252-665-2224 or visit at 204 4th Street in Bayboro.

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