How we collect, use, and protect your information.
Last updated: July 13, 2026
Gaston Fire & Rescue is the public-facing name of Gaston Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.. We operate gastonfirerescue.org as a public website for department information, community programs, volunteer membership, contact requests, donations, gallery media, protected member-app workflows, and the Gaston Fire & Rescue native iOS app.
This Privacy Policy explains the categories of information we collect through the website and native app, why we collect it, the categories of service providers that may process it for us, and how to contact us with privacy questions.
The information we collect depends on how you use the website or app. We do not ask for every type of information on every screen.
We use information for the purpose tied to the request or workflow:
We do not sell personal information. We do not use membership application data, Fire Camp registration data, or child information for third-party advertising.
We use trusted service providers to operate the website, app, and workflows described in this policy. Depending on the workflow, these providers may include:
These providers may process information only as needed to provide their services to us, support the requested workflow, protect the site, or meet legal and operational requirements.
We share information with service providers only as needed for the categories described above. We may also share information when required by law, court order, public-safety need, emergency response need, or department administration requirement.
Public gallery images and public website content are meant to be publicly viewable. Protected membership, Fire Camp, and member-app records are not public website content.
The public website is intended for a general audience. Kids Fire Camp registration is the part of the site that collects information about children. That registration must be completed by a parent or legal guardian.
We use child and parent/guardian information only to evaluate eligibility, communicate with the parent or guardian, organize and operate Kids Fire Camp, manage rosters and attendance, track required paperwork, and support camp safety.
Camp registration information may be submitted through a third-party form platform and may later be entered into the protected member app so approved camp staff can manage camp operations. Sensitive camper details in the member app are stored separately from ordinary roster fields.
A parent or guardian may contact us to review, correct, or request deletion of their child's camp registration information. We do not condition a child's participation on providing more information than is reasonably needed for the program.
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards for information collected through the website and app. Current safeguards include encrypted HTTPS transmission, same-origin checks on sensitive browser POST requests, request body limits, spam-prevention checks, rate limiting, no-store headers on sensitive API responses, noindex headers on protected routes, member-app authentication, exact-email allowlisting, and role-based access controls. The native app stores authentication tokens in the iOS Keychain and uses Apple's permission system for notifications, camera access, photos, Face ID, and location.
Volunteer membership applications are stored in the secure application backend with ordinary review fields separated from an encrypted full application payload. Sensitive Fire Camp camper details in the protected member app are also encrypted separately from roster fields used for camp operations.
No website, transmission method, or storage system is completely secure. If you believe information submitted through this site may have been accessed or used improperly, contact us using the information below.
The website uses cookies and similar technologies for protected member-app sessions, Fire Camp acceptance access, member-app display preferences, spam prevention, analytics, and site operation.
Analytics and session-insight tools help us understand traffic, page usage, and site performance. You can control cookies through your browser settings, and browser controls or extensions may limit analytics collection.
The public site unregisters existing service workers when it loads. The protected member app may register a service worker in production for static app assets. API routes are not cached by that service worker, and authenticated HTML is handled network-only.
Signed-in members can turn push notifications off from member-app Settings, iOS Settings, or their browser controls. Turning notifications off disables the saved notification registration for that device when the app next synchronizes its permission state.
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, for department administration and recordkeeping, for legal or public-safety needs, or to protect and troubleshoot the website.
You may contact us to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information you submitted through the website or app. We may need to verify your identity or authority before acting on a request, especially for membership applications, child camp records, protected member-app records, or records involving another person.
Some records may need to be retained when deletion would conflict with legal obligations, safety needs, department recordkeeping, audit history, or another legitimate operational requirement.
Signed-in iOS members can start permanent account deletion from Account under More. The app immediately revokes login and notification access, removes profile details and ordinary messages, and pseudonymizes the retained member record. Call and training attendance, equipment and vehicle accountability, and security or audit records may remain when required for public-safety operations, legal recordkeeping, or an active investigation. Requests needing manual follow-up are normally completed within 30 days.
We do not sell personal information. We do not respond differently to browser “Do Not Track” signals.
The site may link to external websites, social media pages, donation pages, maps, document-signing tools, and other resources that we do not control. Those services are governed by their own privacy practices.
We may update this Privacy Policy as our website, forms, providers, or department workflows change. When we update it, we will revise the “Last updated” date on this page.
For privacy questions, record requests, or parent/guardian requests about Kids Fire Camp information, contact:
Gaston Fire & Rescue
Gaston Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.
210 Old Emporia Road, Gaston, North Carolina 27832
info@gastonfirerescue.org