Legeros Fire Blog  -

Let's apply the travel treatment to our own town, shall we? Here are the historic and former fire department buildings in Raleigh. The oldest dates to the volunteer years, with the Capital Hose House built in 1887. Then leap to the 20th Century, with a number of former firehouses, including the rear of what was once called Memorial Auditorium. The oldest fire department building still in service is the old alarm house behind in Station 1. See the photos by Legeros, all of which were taken a couple years ago. Will do a fresh photo tour one of these months! Read more history about these buildings.

Delivered last week, a 2012 Pierce Saber. More photos forthcoming from Lee Wilson. We'll get some specs for the thing, too. Click to enlarge:
 

Lee Wilson photo

The Raleigh Fire Museum last week acquired a 1961 American LaFrance 900 Series pumper that originally served the Raleigh Fire Department. It was purchased with donations from active, retired, and former members. The engine served the city from 1961 until 1982, and was sold to the Stem Fire Department in Granville County in what we believe was 1986. It was later sold to a private owner.

The truck's in good condition and the museum will continue to raise money for maintenance and, hopefully, restoration. See photos of the engine's journey from Jan Chamblee and others, as well as photos from Lee Wilson. To learn about the Raleigh Fire Museum or donate money, see www.raleighfiremuseum.org. The engine will be participating in the Saturday, June 16 centennial celebration in downtown Raleigh. Hope to see you there!
 

Lee Wilson photo

Dean Narron photo

Photographer Lee Wilson found these two trucks in Johnston County last week. Top is an American LaFrance 700 Series in Clayton, former Wilson Engine 2. Bottom is a 1948 Mack outside Smithfield that once served Williamston. See more photos.
 

 

Lee Wilson photo

Found via random YouTube search, here's some citizen video of a Charlotte townhouse fire on April 20, 2012. Only about 80 seconds of footage. Some citizen commentary. Sound of evacuation tones about a minute in. Google searching finds these WSCO and WBTV stories. Two alarms on Duke Lancaster Drive. Five families displaced.
 

From the Wake County Firefighters Association: The next quarterly supper / meeting will be held this Tuesday, 5/15/2012, at Wake Forest Fire Department Station 1, 420 East Elm Ave. The meal will be served around 6:30p with the meeting to follow around 7p. There will be a speaker from the new retirement system that the State Fireman's Association has put together. We will also be announcing the scholarship awards. Please feel free to bring any new apparatus that you have recently received so we may all take a look. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

This week is Wake County EMS week. Read press release. There are a couple events planned, both public and private:

• EMS Healthy Living Open House at Station 1 - Monday, May 14 - 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
  Residents are invited to stop by for blood pressure screenings, fresh fruit, tours of ambulances and to meet Pete the Paramedic Panda. Attendees can also learn about automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and hands-only CPR techniques. At 10:00 a.m., Wake County EMS will host a news conference to launch a new initiative with local businesses aimed at improving cardiac arrest survival rates.
   
• Cardiac Arrest Saves Ceremony at Fletcher Opera Theater - Wednesday, May 16 - 7:00 p.m.
  The County’s EMS System will celebrate the 69 survivors of cardiac arrest in 2011. No other community in the U.S. benefits from a higher pre-hospital cardiac arrest survival rate.
   
• Wake County EMS System Reunion at the Wake County Conference Center - Thursday, May 17 - 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  Past members of the EMS departments and rescue squads are invited to a reunion event. Starts with a meet and greet at 10:00 a.m., barbecue lunch at 11:00 a.m., and historical fun from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Visit this web site for more information, including an RSVP form.

As photographed by Lee Wilson at Saturday's open house at the Benson Fire Department. Top is a 1950 Ford/Howe. Love the lines on that one and the overhead ladder rack. (Wake Forest had a similar style rig in that era.) Bottom is an early 1900s horse-drawn, gas-powered pumper. That one was recently returned to the fire department and has been undergoing restoration. See prior posting from 2010. The engine dates to 1907, though that might be an approximate year. Here's a history page of mine with a photo of the engine operating circa 1907. Our readers to the south can perhaps add more information. See more photos from the Open House.
 

 

Lee Wilson photos

Found on the fire department's stations page, here's a drawing of Holly Springs Station 2, which is under construction on Avent Ferry Road. See earlier blog post. See construction photos from Lee Wilson.
 

Here's Station 12 on Ogeechee Road in Savannah, one of three temporary stations operating on the far west and south sides of the city. We photographed all three while visiting the historic city last week. See those photos. (Yeah, you're pretty much crazy person if spend your vacation cruising the perimeter of a place like Savannah, instead of spending every last moment downtown. We don't even need Mrs. Blogger to comment on that one...)

Locally, we've seen a number of temporary fire stations around Raleigh and Wake County. In the Capital City, Engine 8 occupied a rented house on Method Road from 1960 to 1963. In Holly Springs, the municipal fire department's early locations included a warehouse circa 1995. Their Station 2 is currently operating in a trailer on Avent Ferry Road, while their new building is completed on the same site. What other temporary stations have served or are serving around here/this region?
 

My deadliest disasters database includes military aviation accidents with fatalities numbering five or greater. A reader informs of an incident not listed. Nine crew members aboard a C-130 transport plane were killed when their craft crashed into Blewett Falls Lake in Anson County on April 29, 1992. The plane was based at Pope Air Force Base, about 40 miles east of the crash site. The incident ties for ninth deadliest military plane crash in the state's history. The highest fatality count was an Army transport crash on September 20, 1943, at Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base. The crash killed all 25 aboard, and was also the first fatal crash at the base. Memo to self: updated my database with the Anson County incident.

• Laurinburg-Maxton AAB - Sept. 20, 1943 - 25
• Pope AFB - Mar. 23 1994 - 23 killed, 100 injured
• Camp Lejeune Onslow - Jun. 23, 1967 - 22
• Laurinburg-Maxton AAB - Jun. 7, 1943 - 20
• Gingercake Mountain - May 17, 1943 - 18
• Camp Lejeune - May 10, 1996 - 14
• Camp Mackall - Oct. 30, 1943 -14
• Greenknob Mountain - Jun. 13, 1944 - 10
• Cherry Point MCAS - Oct. 16, 1975 - 9
• Blewett Falls Lake - Apr 29, 1992 - 9

Fire Chief John McGrath extends his invitation to the Raleigh Fire Department Centennial Celebration in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, June 16, in this short video clip. The all-day event begins at 10:00 a.m. and will feature a fire truck parade, firefighter competitions, antique apparatus pumping demonstrations, a Kidde Kid's Zone, and a huge birthday cake. Learn more at www.RFD100.com, including registration information for your apparatus for firefighter team. Click to watch the video:
 

Found for sale on eBay is this postcard of the Morganton City Hall building, which included a fire station in the rear. Never seen this photo before! Sanborn Maps from April 1910 show the structure located on King Street, just west of West Union Street. The volunteer fire department of 25 men operated a horse hose wagon and a horse hook and ladder truck. The town had 45 hydrants. The population was 3500. Don't know when the building was built, or when it was demolished. View the Sanborn Maps. Click to enlarge:
 

Good evening Raleigh. Summer appears to be here! Days are getting longer, days are getting hotter. Good time for summer projects and summer vacations. Regarding the former, Yours Truly is compiling a list of all Wake County fire chiefs past and present. Started as question, which chiefs have been the longest-serving? That led to a longer list, which is a few departments shy of being completed. Names plus start and stop years, where possible. Watch this space.

• A parade is coming and you're invited! - FireNews.net posting about the Raleigh Fire Department centennial celebration on Saturday, June 16. An all-day celebration is planned downtown. The festivities start with a parade on Fayetteville Street. Your department is requested to send modern or antique apparatus. You can also participate in the apparatus muster and the firefighter challenges. Learn more at www.RFD100.com.
   
• Fairview hiring for Fire Chief - The Fairview Fire Department in Apex is hiring to fill a full-time Fire Chief position. Applications accepted through June 1. See this PDF document for more information, including an application. Congratulations again to outgoing Chief Ed Brinson, who's continuing the family name in the North Carolina State Fireman's Association as Assistant Director.
   
• FireNews and Bartosz cover triple-truck crash on I-95 - FireNews.net posting about Wednesday's fatal, fiery truck crash on I-95 in Rocky Mount. The city department was assisted by Red Oak FD, Coopers FD, West Mount FD, and Battleboro FD. Plus a crash truck from the airport. (Full run card, anyone?) Photographer Bob Bartosz contributed some 20 photos.
   
• Speaking of fire photographers... - Mark your calendar for Friday, August 10. That's the date that a Fire Photography Panel will be held at the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo in Raleigh. The 90-minute workshop is scheduled from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The moderator is FireNews.net Editor Jeff Harkey. The participants include myself. More on that one, later.
   
• Speaking of the Fire Expo - After you've learned about fire photography, plan to attend my workshop at 3:15 p.m. on the same day. Historian Mike Legeros will present a Centennial History of the Raleigh Fire Department. The 90-minute session will include a contextual history of the fire service in North Carolina as well. And probably a lot of neat old photos.
     
• Salary freezes often mean double duty for area firefighters - Star-News story about Wilmington firefighters making ends meet, and as the city faces an estimated $4.5 million budget hole.
   
• Volunteer cartographer sets Google Map record straight on Triangle - News & Observer story from Sunday about a WakeMed police officer whose a citizen cartographer off-duty. Pretty neat.
   
• 14 tips for raising the bar on memo writing - Modern Meeting Standing posting on writing better. Learn from the thing, okay? You'll become a better texter, tweeter, and e-mail writer. Might even help some folks with blogging!
   
• Vacation photos from Charleston and Savannah - Mr. Blogger is about finished with his post-vacation post-processing. Posted so far are shots from the Charleston Naval Yard, Savannah Historic Firehouses, and Savannah Temporary Firehouses (!). Pending is the Hilton Head Island Airport Fire Department and general shots from around Savannah.

Slowly but surely we're amassing a collection of current photos of historic urban firehouses in the South. As posted to the Mike Legeros Flickr site, you can tour these cities:

• Baltimore
• Charleston
• District of Columbia
• Richmond
• Savannah

There's also an omnibus of North Carolina stations, which mixes urban, suburban, and rural. For specific cities, see this history page and these articles therein:

Back from vacation but still processing photos and observations from our trip to Savannah by way of Charleston. Heard there's a new airport fire department in North Charleston, serving the Boeing plant that opened last year. Google finds a couple apparatus delivery photos. Top photo is a 2011 Oshkosh Striker 3000, from this E-Vehicle News story. See larger photo on that page. Bottom is a 2011? Ford F-550/American LaFrance mini-pumper slash light rescue, from this ALF page. Perhaps readers can add details about BFD as well as main airport fire department in North Charleston.
 

Don't forget that the Raleigh Fire Museum is open this Saturday, May 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The museum is open on the second Saturday of each month, and is located in a classroom trailer at the Keeter Training Center at 105 Keeter Center Drive. Parking and restrooms are available. Admission is free. Learn more about the museum, and the group that operates it, at www.raleighfiremuseum.org.
  

 
Please note that the Raleigh Fire Department's collection of antique fire apparatus is housed at a separate location, at Fire Station 28 at 3500 Forestville Road in northeast Raleigh. The collection includes a 1905 steamer, a 1926 American LaFrance pumper, a 1950 Mack pumper, and a 1982 Mack pumper. Visitors are welcome.

The Savannah Fire Department dates to 1867, and its career department was formed in 1890. The first fire company was formed over a century earlier in 1759. That was a couple decades after the first fire in 1737. The first officially organized fire department was formed in 1825, and the first independent fire companies were organized in 1845.

The department used hand-powered apparatus until 1866, when all hand engines were converted to steam power. Motor appratus arrived in the 1910s. After the successful operation of an American LaFrance combination chemical hose wagon, eleven more were purchased in 1911. Savannah became the first fully mechanized fire department in the United States.

Three engine houses from the late 19th and early 20th century are still standing in the city. Other historic fire stations include two from the 1930s and two from the 1940s. One of each is active, notably the monster Headquarters Fire Station on Oglethrope Avenue. Also at that location resides Big Duke, the alarm bell and tower that previously sat in front of the police station.

See photos of the stations, shot this week on our vacation. Criteria was (a.) age 50 years or older or (b.) no longer serving as a fire station, built any year. Or read more information.

Sources:

• Savannah Fire Department history (short)
• Savannah Fire Department history, via IAFF Local 574 (Word document, long)
• Savannah Fire Department records, via City of Savannah Research Library & Municipal Archives (PDF)

Check out this monster fire station that Charleston's getting ready to build. New Station 9 at King and Heriot streets. Five bays, with the department's headquarters on the second floor. It replaces an existing station at the same location, though that building (and a much smaller facility) is closed because of mold problems. The $5.5 million, 19,500 square-foot building was designed by Rosenblum Coe Architects. It'll house Engine 9 plus the haz-mat team. It also has space to accommodate one of the four downtown engine companies, which will be needed on a temporary basis, as the city works to retrofit its older stations for earthquake protection (!).  See this Post & Courier story for more information. See pictures of Charleston's historic stations, photographed by Legeros in 2007. 
 

This is a reminder that the Wake Forest Fire Department is hosting a Brotherhood Conference on Saturday, May 12. The location is Ravenscroft School at 9409 Falls of Neuse Road, Raleigh. The event time is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The special guest is Lt. Ray McCormack, FDNY. This conference is free for any active firefighters. There are 400 slots max. Download the flyer (PDF), or click to read for contact information:
 

Here's a peek inside the bays of the Hilton Head Island Airport Fire Department. The station is staffed with two career firefighters, who operated an Oshkosh crash truck and a Ford quick-response vehicle. Didn't get the model years or specs, alas. The department is operated by Beaufort County, versus HHIFD. The latter, however, has their headquarters and training facility across the street from the airport fire station. More photos later, including some inside shots of their about-a-year-old station.