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Robert P. Nordman
Northern Wake Fire Department
December 17, 2018
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Captain Robert P. Nordman, 48, died of
occupation-related cancer on December 17, 2018. He
was assigned to the department's Risk Management
Division.
He had served as a Captain at Northern Wake since
the department's creation in 2017, as a merger of
Bay Leaf and Stony Hill fire departments. He
previously served as a Captain at Stony Hill since
2004.
He had over thirty years of fire service experience
in Wake County, as member of Northern Wake, Stony
Hill, Wendell, and Apex fire departments.
Nordham was a veteran in the United States Navy, who
served three tours during Operation Desert Storm. He
was survived by a wife, two sons, and a daughter,
and a step-daughter.
A memorial service was conducted on January 5, 2019,
at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh.
Jon F. Schondelmayer
Swift Creek Fire Department
December 18, 2013 |
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| Firefighter Jon F.
Schondelmayer, 44, died after being found unresponsive
at his home, while working with the Swift Creek Fire
Department. He had begun to feel ill while at the fire
station. At about 11:30 a.m., he told his crew that he
was going home to get some medicine and return to the
station. |
His crew became concerned when he left and called him on
his cell phone to see how he was doing. At the same time, a
Swift Creek firefighter was sent to his residence. While on
the telephone, Schondelmayer said that didn't feel well and
needed assistance.
When the other firefighter arrived at the
residence, he found Schondelmayer unresponsive. The Swift
Creek firefighter began rendering medical aid and contacted
his company at the fire station for assistance. Emergency
responders worked for 50 minutes to try to revive
Schondelmayer, but he passed away from a nature and cause of
injury still to be determined and reported.
Schondelmayer was also a Captain in Cary,
and had just come off of a busy shift that included
several emergency response runs. He was a 19-year veteran of
the Cary Fire Department, and had worked with Swift Creek
for 18 years. His memorial service was conducted on Monday,
December 23, at Colonial Baptist Church in Cary. Following
the service, his body was carried to Brown-Wynne Funeral
Home in Raleigh.
View funeral photos by Legeros
Herman S. Jones
Raleigh Fire Department
January 22, 2008 |
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Lieutenant Herman S. Jones, 58, died
after suffering an apparent heart attack.. He was on duty
Friday, January 18, at Station 10, when he began to
experience chest pains. He was transported to WakeMed and
then to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. He died at the hospital
on January 22, 2008.
Jones entered the department on May 5,
1980. He was promoted to the ranks of Firefighter First
Class on June 15, 1983, and to Lieutenant on June 16, 2001.
He had served 27.7 years at the time of his death.
He was buried following a church service
on Saturday, January 26, at Juniper Level Baptist Church in
Raleigh. Fire department members Ronald Ricks, Joseph
Callender, Patrick Canady, Gregory Buxton, George Jones
Sr., and Michael Barnes served as pallbearers.
Read NFFF memorial entry.
View funeral photos by Legeros.
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Larry W. Fanning
Garner Fire Department
August 2, 2006 |
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Firefighter Larry Wayne Fanning, 57,
died at his home of a heart attack,
several hours after working standby at the
station during a medical call. He was a
16-year veteran of the Garner Fire
Department, including serving as their corporate President, and a 38-year veteran of the
fire service. His funeral was held August
10, in Dublin, VA.
Read NFFF memorial entry.
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Todd A. Blanchard
Eastern Wake Fire Department
July 14, 2005
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Firefighter Todd Alan Blanchard, 31, died
from injuries suffered at a fire at the intersection of Turnipseed Road and Major Slade Road in the unincorporated Knightdale area.
Blanchard was one of a three-member crew returning
to the scene of an earlier tree fire. They arrived at
12:42 a.m. and applied water to the smoldering area, and then approached the tree to examine
the smoldering area more closely. As the crew walked toward the tree, a limb
approximately two-and-a-half feet in diameter broke and struck Blanchard.
The two firefighters with Blanchard removed the limb and began CPR when they determined that
the firefighter's breathing and heart had stopped. Paramedics
arrived at the scene and initiated advanced life support
treatment.
He was transported to WakeMed and
declared dead about 2:30 a.m. The cause of death was massive
chest trauma. Blanchard had worked as a full-time
firefighter for Eastern Wake Fire Department for
approximately two years. Memorial services were held at
Edenton Street United Methodist Church in downtown Raleigh
on Saturday, July 16. Over a mile of fire and EMS
vehicles from Wake, Cumberland, Durham, Harnett, Johnston,
Nash, and Wayne counties escorted mourners from Eastern Wake
Station 1 on Poole Road to the church.
Read NFFF memorial entry.
View funeral photos by Legeros.
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Patrick J. Dougherty
Garner Fire Department
April
8, 1993
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Firefighter Patrick J. "Pat" Dougherty, 37, died of a heart
attack during salvage operations at a house fire at 516
Poplar Drive on April 7, 1993. At approximately 11:45 p.m.,
he complained of feeling week. He collapsed while
being examined by EMS personnel and was pronounced dead at
Wake Medical Center of a massive heart attack, at 1:10 a.m.
Funeral
services were held on April 10 at St. Mary's Catholic Church
in Garner, followed by burial at Montlawn Memorial Park in
Raleigh. Garner (E1, E2), Bay Leaf (E258), Durham Highway (E2), Fairgrounds (E198), Fuquay-Varina (E2, E5), Morrisville (E2) New Hope (E1), Six Forks (E121), Wake Forest (E63), and Yrac
(E293) fire departments participated in the procession. Dougherty, owner of an auto repair business,
was a volunteer member of the Garner Fire Department from
August 1988 to June
1992, and had rejoined in January 1993.
Note: Legeros has previously cited April 7 as the death
date, in some places.
Read NFFF memorial entry.
| Lewis B.
Nuckles
Wake Forest Fire Department
March 4, 1982
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Firefighter
Lewis B. Nuckles, 52, died on March 4, 1982, after suffering
a heart attack during water shuttle training evolutions at
Wake Forest Plaza on Brooks Street, the current location of
the The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre For the Arts. The
time of his collapse is TBD. He died at Raleigh Community
Hospital at 10:13 p.m., hours after the incident. He was a
volunteer member of the department. By day, he was an
assistant manager for Brinks.
To honor his memory, the department
created the Lewis B. Nuckles Award that year, to recognize
an volunteer member each year, regardless of rank. The
first award was given to Hubert Denton at the department's
Christmas dinner that year. The award is still awarded
every year, and a plaque at the station lists all of the
names.
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Norwood C. Massengill
Fairgrounds Fire Department
February 10, 1971
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Assistant Chief Norwood C. "Dick" Massengill, 57, died of a
heart attack while returning from a false alarm on February
10, 1971.
Massengill
was operating the fire apparatus when it collided with trees in
a residential yard on Grand Avenue about 2:23 p.m. He was
found dead upon arrival of the Raleigh Fire Department
rescue squad.
Funeral services were held on February
12 at Apex Funeral Home, with burial at Montlawn Memorial
Park in Raleigh the same day. Massengill, a mechanic, was a charter member of the
volunteer Fairgrounds Fire
Department, organized in 1961. He was formerly a member of
the Western Boulevard Fire Department.
Photo from 1958 group photo of WBFD, courtesy of Elaine
Massengill Kurtz.
View historical photos of WBFD.
| Paul A. Mimms
Raleigh Fire Department
April 20, 1965
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Firefighter
II Paul A. "Pallie" Mimms, 41, died of an apparent heart
attack while operating a pumper at a commercial structure
fire, at 1908 Hillsboro Street. He fainted at the pump
panel and was pronounced dead on arrival at Rex Hospital.
The fire at Norden Laboratories Incorporated was discovered
about 12:15 a.m. Mimms was the driver of Engine 5.
Funeral services were held on April 22
at Overby Mortuary Chapel in Raleigh, with burial at
Montlawn Memorial Park the same day.
Mimms entered the department on July 16,
1951. He had served 13.8 years at the time of his death.
His brother Harry retired as a Captain in 1977, serving
from November 24, 1952, to March 1, 1977. Photo courtesy
Joe Mimms.
View virtual museum page.
Vernon L.
Thompson
Cary Fire Department
June 16, 1960 |
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Firefighter
Vernon Lee Thompson, 28, was killed and Firefighter Willis Edward (Billy) Henderson, 32, was injured when their
1954 department-built, 4,500-gallon,
tractor-drawn tanker overturned near
Meredith College on June 16, 1960. The accident occurred about 10:00 a.m., while
they were turning from US
1 onto a service road that ran between college property and
the State College animal husbandry farm.
Both were
thrown from the open-cab apparatus. Thompson was pinned under the cab and
died after gasoline leaking from the fuel tank under the seat
was apparently ignited by an electrical short. Raleigh
firefighters and other rescue workers spent nearly two hours
recovering Thompson's body. The first wrecker sent to the scene
was unable to raise the truck. A larger, second wrecker was
called and lifted the cab enough for Thompson's body to be
removed.
Both Thompson and Henderson were state employees
working at nearby Camp Polk prison farm and were en route to extinguish the rekindling of a trash fire near the prison
dump from the night before. Henderson
was driving about 15 miles an hour when the accident occurred.
Pavement markings stretched about 120 feet, created by the
pressure of the heavy, slowing truck. The
cab of the tanker was destroyed; the apparatus was not
returned to service.
Funeral services were held on June 18 at
Cary Baptist Church, with burial at Cary Cemetery the same
day. Thompson was a volunteer member of the Cary Fire
Department.
View historical photos of the accident.
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Robert L. Battle
April 23, 1959
Raleigh Emergency
Rescue Squad, Inc. |
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Volunteer Robert Battle, 45, drowned in the Cape Fear
River near Battle Dam, about five miles below Buckhorn Dam,
while searching for the body of a Fuquay Springs man, who
had apparently drowned the day before when his fishing boat
overturned two miles or so above Buckhorn Dam.
Battle
had entered the water to swim out and investigate an object
on the back of an overturned boat, spotted by a Wildlife
Commission plane being used in the search. Battle was unable
to make it back to shore and drowned in the river.
He
had a rope around his waist, but the rope wasn't long enough
to reach the found object, and he had requested that his
fellow squad members let go of the rope. When he became
exhausted on the return trip, he tied himself to a willow
tree in the river, but was apparently too tired to hold his
head out of the water.
Battle was an employee of the
Wake County Sheriff's Department and had worked as a night
jailer for four years. He had previously served as a Raleigh
police officer.
He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in
Raleigh, following a service on Saturday, April 25.
The Raleigh Emergency Rescue Squad was organized in 1953,
and housed at Station 1 and staffed by a full-time fire
department driver.
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Vernon J. Smith
Raleigh Fire Department
March 10, 1956 |
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Driver Vernon J. Smith, 44, died at Rex Hospital, succumbing
to injuries occurred November 14, 1952, while operating Engine
6. The 1926 American LaFrance pumper, being operated as a
reserve unit, overturned while returning from a call at the
sharp curve where Brooks Avenue turns into Lewis Farm Road.
The 1:00 p.m. accident also pinned Captain James T. White
under the wreckage and injured the three firefighters hanging
onto the tailboard. The accident was blamed on a broken brake
lever and the City Council immediately approved funding for a
new pumper, to retire the other 1926 reserve pumper as soon as
possible. The other firefighters recovered from their
injuries, while Smith underwent 29 operations before his
death. He worked in light-duty roles as his health permitted,
including as dispatcher.
Funeral services were held on March 12 at Hayes Barton
Baptist Church, with burial at Montlawn Cemetery the same day.
Fire Chief Jack B. Keeter, Assistant Fire Chief R. Lee
Matthews, and fire department members James M. Burnette, James
T. White, Herbert E. Partin, and Jack T. Wall served as
pallbearers.
Smith joined the Raleigh Fire Department on
July 17, 1942. He had served 13.7 years at the time of his
death. Photo courtesy Harold Smith.
View virtual museum page.
View historical photos and other remembrances.
This page was last updated on June 17,
2021. |
