North Carolina Firefighters Help Food Delivery Driver In More Ways Than One

Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty! On July 28th, firefighters from the West Mecklenburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to a car accident west of Charlotte on Sam Wilson Road. Queen City News reported that both of the drivers sustained non-life-threatening injuries. After the firefighters had tended to the drivers, they went a step further.

One of the drivers involved in the wreck was making a food delivery for DoorDash at the time. Two bags from McDonald's were sitting in her car. However, she was in no condition to complete the delivery. That's when firefighter Brendan Montesi realized that the delivery location was only a few minutes from the crash site. So he asked his fellow firefighters, “Why don’t we just go take this DoorDash order and finish it out?"

Video shows the crew arriving at the apartment complex where the McDonald’s order was being delivered. Naturally, when neighbors first saw the fire engine's flashing lights, they were concerned there might be an emergency in one of the buildings. They were delighted to learn the real reason the fire department was on the scene. One of the firefighters is then seen delivering the food to the grateful customer.

Montesi says it’s all part of serving “the same people we see every day," and adds that, in his line of work, you never know what the job might require. West Mecklenburg Fire Chief Scott Hunter commended the act, saying, "This is just another example of how public safety personnel make a difference, whether it’s an emergency or not."

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed many aspects of American life, from work and the economy to social interactions to entertainment and much more. For consumers, one significant change has been the accelerated adoption of delivery services as a part of commerce. I usually get some sort of package delivered every week. And I have to say I also have strong opinions about which service I prefer. It seems like at the apartment complex I live in, there is always at least one delivery truck out.  And there might be a reason for that. Charlotte actually does have a lot of delivery drivers compared to other cities of the same general size.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects continued growth in the delivery driver profession over the years ahead. Between Light Truck Drivers and Driver/Sales Workers there are expected to be an additional 182,900 jobs for delivery drivers between now and 2030. This would be a 12% increase, which is faster than the average for other professions.

As it stands now, some locations have higher concentrations of delivery drivers available than others. The concentration of delivery drivers also varies at the local level. One of the major factors affecting delivery driver concentrations at the metro level is whether a location has a significant shipping and logistics industry. For example, leading cities Memphis and Louisville are home to FedEx and UPS, respectively. While other cities like Cincinnati, Columbus, and Chicago also serve as significant shipping and distribution hubs.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. To determine the locations with the most delivery drivers per capita, researchers at Porch calculated the number of delivery drivers per thousand residents. In the event of a tie, the location with the higher percentage of delivery drivers as a share of total employment was ranked higher. To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included. Read on to see just where Charlotte ranked when it comes to delivery drivers.