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Lee Wilson photos
The "town truck" replaces a 1996 KME pumper, 1500/750. The "rural truck" replaces a KME engine (model year?) that overturned in January. See blog posting about that incident. See more photos on the ORFD Facebook page, as well as some from Lee Wilson last week. See also our ongoing updates about the history of HFD and ORFD. Still doing some research there.
Courtesy Orange Rural Fire Department
We covered the future plans (prospective or otherwise) of Cary and Apex in their respective prior postings. Let's look at the city and see what they're cooking for the next five years...
The Raleigh Fire Department recently produced a five-year strategic planning document. A copy has been posted to the RFD newsletter site and accompanies an article about the plan in the fall 2015 issue. The plan was created by a thirty-two member planning committee during a series of meetings this summer. It was developed with inputs gathered from a stakeholder survey in May 2015.
Five goals are outlined in the Strategic Plan: promoting workforce excellence, adjusting operational and support staffing levels, strengthening functionality and condition of infrastructure, automating business systems, and enhancing public communication. The thirty-four page document concludes with appendix materials.
Read the strategic plan (PDF)
Let's look closely at staffing, apparatus, and facility objectives through 2020:
Staffing
Read the strategic plan (PDF)
Apparatus
Facilities
Technology
Notes
|
Criteria:
Answer:
At least 122.
Details below. See Mike's
Wake County station
register (PDF) for more information.
Apex |
4 |
Excludes 1927 municipal building, not purpose-built with fire station space. |
Bay Leaf |
4 |
Excludes Lynn Rd., not built for BLFD Excludes original station on Six Forks Rd., space inside commercial structure. |
Cary |
13 |
Excludes other earlier facilities likely not purpose-built, such as Public Utilities building used in 1960s for temporary housing of original service ladder truck. |
Durham Highway |
3 |
|
Eastern Wake |
|
See Knightdale. |
Fairgrounds |
2 |
|
Fairview |
3 |
|
Falls |
Station excluded from list, community building not purpose-built as fire station. |
|
Fuquay-Varina |
5 |
Possibly another earlier purpose-built FVFD or Fuquay Springs FD structure(s) or two. |
Garner |
5 |
Exclude original station on Garner Rd., former used-car garage. |
Holly Springs |
4 |
Excludes temporary station on Thomasmill Rd., space in commercial building. Exclude Sta 3 on Friendship Rd., rented house. |
Hopkins |
1 |
Fowler Rd. (1977?) |
Knightdale |
2 |
Excludes:
|
Morrisville |
4 |
Excludes:
|
New Hope |
2 |
Exclude original station on New Hope Rd., rented space inside existing structure. |
Raleigh |
41 |
Excludes:
|
RDU |
3 |
|
Rolesville |
2 |
Excludes original station on S. Main St., part of service station. |
Six Forks |
3 |
Exclude original station on Six Forks Rd., converted barn. |
Stony Hill |
4 |
|
Swift Creek |
2 |
|
Wake Forest |
7 |
Excludes:
|
Wake Forest #2 |
1 |
N. Taylor St. Presuming purpose-built for fire department. |
Wendell |
4 |
Plus three hoses houses, circa 1920s. Unsure if purpose-built or adapted. One of these may have served as the fire station through the 1950s. Excludes Hollybrook Rd., where Fourth Street station was relocated brick-by-brick in early 1960s. |
Western Boulevard |
|
Both original structures excluded, as neither was purpose-built for fire department. First was space in service station, second was loaned “chicken shack.” |
Western Wake |
See Fairgrounds. |
|
Yrac |
1 |
E. Durham Rd. (1966) Excludes original structure, which was rented structure not purpose-built for fire department. |
Zebulon |
2 |
Plus three hose houses circa early 1920s. Unsure if purpose-built or adapted. One of these was likely expanded into the fire station that served through the 1950s. |
The 13,395 square-foot facility is a two-story structure and the town's second fire station with a pole. Or poles, plural. It's also their second station with accordion-style (also called bi-parting) bay doors. (They open fast. Within seconds.) Including land, design, and construction, the new fire station cost about $5.5M. A dedication ceremony is planned for Friday, December 18, at 11:30 a.m. Read the press release.
Upon the relocation of Engine 2 and Rescue 2 yesterday morning, old Station 2 became Station 9. The legacy facility will house Engine 9 until a permanent home is constructed at 1427 Walnut Street. The property is located at the corner of Walnut Street and Nottingham Drive. There's an abandoned church on the site, which the fire department has been using for occasional training. There's been $750,000 funded for the project thus far.
Engine 9 was placed in service with Engine 6, relocated from Station 6 at
3609 Ten-Ten Road. Same is a 2003 Pierce Dash pumper that will be re-lettered
when new decals arrive. Also yesterday morning, Ladder 6 was renamed Engine 6.
They'll operating as a quint company with their 2008 Pierce Velocity aerial ladder.
Additionally, Rescue 4 was moved to Station 6. Now Rescue 6, they operate the
town's second 2012 Pierce Velocity rescue, which is identical to Rescue 2.
What's the status of future fire facilities and apparatus in Cary? Good question! Looking at the town's budget documents, there's a ten-year CIP listing from a year ago. It's available on this page. Highlights include:
What's their current status? We'll ask around on Friday, at the dedication ceremony. Readers may have inputs as well. Also need a check on the makes/models/years of the apparatus listed above.
See photos from Mike Legeros and Lee Wilson.
Read prior blog postings about Station 2:
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The need for the station has been
forecast since 2004, and was highlighted as an important facility as part of the
town's 2013 ISO review. It'll serve three new schools and some 2,000 new
residences. The station will reduce response times by approximately two minutes
in all primary service areas west of Kelly Road. Here's a panoramic photo of the
site. Click twice to enlarge:
The above document also details other fire department and public safety capital plans, notably:
Lee Wilson photos
1There were two rescues swapped between Clayton and Morrisville in the early 2000s. At the same time they sold their heavy rescue, MFD acquired a 2000 Ford F-550 light rescue from Clayton Area Rescue Squad. (Presumably with CARS moving to EMS-only services? That was happening locally, with area "rescue squads" become EMS-only agencies. Such as Cary, Six Forks, etc.) Morrisville then purchased a 1989 Simon-Duplex/KME/Saulsbury from somewhere "up North." (The small rescue is still in service, and the big rescue was replaced by MFD in 2013.)
]]>They paid $10,000 for the truck, which was purchased from Slagle's in South Boston, VA. The truck had been modified there with a new 500 gallon booster tank. Stony Hill further modified the truck, with wooden extension to the hose bed. The truck is still on their roster as a parade pierce.
As for IFC in Westville? They merged with Union Fire Company in 1987, which also protected the town. They merged and formed Westville Fire Department. Click to enlarge:
Year | Population | Fire Department | Fire Equipment | Alarm System | Water Supply |
1898 | 2,000 | Volunteer, 40 men. | One combination chemical and hand engine, 1000' 2 1/2'' hose. | N/A | "Not good" |
1904 | 2,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A | "Not good" |
1908 | 2,200 | Two companies with 34 white volunteer members in first company and 20 colored members in second company. |
|
N/A | "For protection of the town not near the water, 8 driven wells have been sunk" |
1913 | 2,500 | One chief. Two companies. Two stations.
|
|
Whistle. | Eight artesian wells, three more coming. For fire protection only. |
1924 | 3,200 |
Two volunteer companies of 42 men, none paid. Three stations.
|
|
Whistle at ice plant and whistle at pumping station. | 48 hydrants |
1941 | 3,200 |
Partly paid, one station.
|
Notes:
|
Gamewell alarm system. Ten boxes. Alarm by whistle at fire station. | 58 hydrants |
The current call center is housed in the basement of the Municipal Building at 222 W. Hargett Street. And with no windows, or glorious high ceilings. The ECC opened at that location in 1982, after moving from the first floor of the next-door police headquarters at 110 S. McDowell Street, where they originated in 1972.
And in case you missed it, earlier this month, the RWECC was named of the Top Ten 911 Dispatch Call Centers Centers in the US for 2015, by 911DispatcherEdu. Read that story, or see the RWECC Facebook posting about same.
Congrats to the ECC on their coming new quarters. Can't wait to visit! What are some of the features of the new facility, or comparative stats of future versus present quarters? Maybe readers can advise.
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Lee Wilson photos
Lee Wilson photo
The reason is a North Carolina General Statute that's been inadvertently neglected. The state requires the display of a logo with a minimum of eight-inch size, on both sides of the vehicle, and clearly visible when the vehicle is operational. (The law applies only to counties and not municipalities, incidentally.) This was addressed as part of a recommendation that all future fire department admin. vehicles be purchased through county General Services, to ensure utilization of state contract pricing.
How many vehicles are we talking about? Eleven engines, ten tankers, five rescues, and two admin. vehicles. That's about five years of past purchases. County-purchased apparatus and admin. vehicles before that time--such as the bulk purchases that started about 2004--were titled directly to the departments.
Here's the logo that will be added, and which already appears on Wake County Fire Services vehicles:
Fire extending to interior dining room and other interior spaces. Attack with two-inch line from Engine 2, plus additional hand lines. Ladder 1 positioned on Walnut Street. Ladder 3 positioned and deployed (but no water flowed) in parking lot, behind structure. Command and medical also located in parking lot. One hydrant caught, also in the parking lot.
Dispatched 12:16 a.m. Contained within 15-20 minutes. Controlled 1:30 p.m. Extended overhaul, with units on scene for a number of hours. Building unoccupied at the time of fire, and had been vacated about thirty minutes prior. No information on cause yet announced in news.
First alarm was E2, E4, E3, L3, R2, B1, and Swift Creek Engine 1. Second alarm was E1, L1, B2, and Car 3.1 Plus WC1 for investigation. Medical with EMS 51, EMS 8, EMS 4, M91, and T1.
And with Station 2 relocating in two weeks, it's likely the last two-bagger for Engine 2 from that location. (Engine 2 and Rescue 2 will move to the new Chatham Street station. On the same day, Engine 9 will be placed in service at the current Station 2, and Ladder 6 will become the quint company Engine 6. )
FireNews.net on Twitter posted this pre-arrival picture. Below that are a couple pictures by Mike Legeros on Twitter, taken later into the incident. And forthcoming to his photo site:
FireNews.net contributor photo
Mike Legeros photos
1What constitutes a second alarm in Cary? There are two flavors:
Agenda
Documents
Agenda packet (PDF, 8.3MB)
]]>American LaFrance won that one. They shipped a 1958 American LaFrance 900 Series pumper (#N-720), 1000/300, on July 31, 1959. Bid price was $21,800. Purchase price was $23,354.85, including equipment.
This document records apparent reject reasons for pumpers from FWD, Oren, Pirsch, and "Seagraves." Some notes on those four apparatus builders. See my Raleigh apparatus register for more details:
Click once or twice to enlarge: