Wake County Fire Department Updates – January 2023

Posted by on

Here’s a new “armchair update” on what’s news and new at the various fire departments around Wake County. Thanks to the various fire chiefs that shared their information. 

Apex

  • New Station 6 nearing completion, 1206 Wimberly Road. Expected to open in late March or early April. See drawings in this blog post. 
  • New E-One Typhoon pumper on order, for the station. Expected around June, delayed due to build delays.
  • Academy 3 graduates April 21, with 12 firefighters to help staff the new station and new Engine 6.
  • Second battalion and three battalion chiefs will be added, when Station 6 opens.
  • New Spartan Gladiator/Smeal aerial platform also on order, 2000/400/100-foot.
  • Preparing to spec new replacement engine for next budget year.
  • Currently advertising for third assistant chief, new position. Assistant Chief of Professional Standards and Accreditation.

Cary

  • Four Pierce Enforcer pumpers on order, 1500/500.
  • Station 4 renovation plans are nearing completion and will be bid soon. The project will completely remodel the 1988 facility at 1401 Old Apex Road. Everything will be new within the existing footprint, plus some modifications to interior walls. Plus a 1,500 square-foot addition, for a fitness room. The station will be closed during the project and crews moved to a modular unit.

Durham Highway Continue reading ‘Wake County Fire Department Updates – January 2023’ »

Facebook Comments

Two Alarms on Logger Court

Posted by on

See more photos by Mike Legeros.

Two alarms were struck on Friday night, January 21, 2023, at 1100 Logger Court in north Raleigh. Two-story, garden-style, office condo building with 3,600 square-feet, if calculating correctly. Built 1981, say tax records.

Dispatched 10:02 p.m. as a multiple residential structure fire at the intersection of Falls of Neuse Road and Carlos Drive. Engine 15 first-arriving with fire showing through the roof of what initially appeared to be a residential structure. Engine 19 with supply line from hydrant at Falls of Neuse and Logger Court.

Interior attack, with two lines taken into the second-floor of a rear unit. One of the lines started leaking, due to fire damage, and that crew was backed out to the breezeway. Subsequent partial collapse of the roof, over the fire unit. Also at least one exterior line deployed, to protect exposures. 

Ladder 15 positioned and raised in the front of building, but used just for lighting. Ladder 4 deployed in the back of building, in a parking lot from Ridgefield Drive, and flowed water. Supplied by Engine 4, from a hydrant at Ridgefield and Spring Forest Road [?].

Medical monitoring and rehab by Wake County EMS, in the parking lot on the northeast side of the structure. Decon of firefighter PPE at Engine 15. 

Special call for additional two engines. Upgraded by command to full second-alarm assignment, which added three more engines and two ladders. 

Controlled 10:43 p.m. Extended overhaul, extinguishing hot spots. First pic about eight minutes into incident. 

Run card included:

First alarm:
E15, L15, E4, L4, B5, E19, E9, R16, B1, SO14
EMS11

Working fire:
DC1, Air28, INV1
D3, EMS12, T1

Added:
EMS72
E11, E22

Second alarm:
L22, E18, E27, E17, L6

Facebook Comments

New Morrisville Fire Station 3

Posted by on

The town of Morrisville recently broke ground on a new Station 3 at 1021 Harris Mill Road. The facility will replace current Station 3, which is co-located with Cary Station 7 at 6900 Carpenter Fire Station Road.  

From this town project page: the town acquired 6.3 acres of land at 1021 Harris Mill Road to construct a new fire station, and approximately 2.7 acres will be used for the station. The remaining property will be available for other uses, as yet to be determined.

The building is expected to be approximately 15,700 square feet, with double deep bays and administration and personnel quarters for four to nine staff per day. The overall site work will also include landscaping improvements.

Facebook Comments

New Holly Springs Fire Station 3

Posted by on

The town of Holly Springs is planning a new Station 3 on Cinder Station Road off Woods Creek Road. The fire station currently occupies a converted house at 4112 Friendship Road. Below are conceptual renderings from this town project page. 

Facebook Comments

New Garner Fire Station 5

Posted by on

Ground was recently broken on Garner Station 5  at 7816, AKA the Caddy Road Public Safety Building. Here’s some project information and a rendering, from this Wake County project page. 

Project Summary
The Caddy Road Public Safety Station is a co-location of Garner Fire-Rescue, Town of Garner Police and Wake County EMS. The construction contract award was approved by the Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Town of Garner Council in September of 2022. The plans for the project include a total of 16,816 square feet including four full apparatus bays, company day rooms, offices, a conference room, an exercise space, a full size kitchen and dining areas, support space, and 1,400 square feet of future building pad for the Town of Garner. Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2022 and the facility should be open for service by the winter of 2023.

  • Site Acreage: 5.19 Acres
  • Parking: 40 Parking Spaces
  • Building Area: 16,816 SF
  • Number of Vehicle Bays: 4 Full Apparatus Bays (8 Vehicles)
  • Programs Offered: Emergency Response – Fire & EMS and Police
  • Architect: adw architects, PA
  • Contractor: Engineered Construction Company
  • Construction Budget: $10,225,330
  • Projected Opening: Winter 2023

Facebook Comments

Fuquay-Varina Planning Fourth Fire Station

Posted by on

January 22, 2023
Renderings added:

November 27, 2022
News from southern Wake County. The Town of Fuquay-Varina just closed an RFQ for the design and build of a fourth fire station. From documents on the bid page, the combination fire and EMS facility will be located at 4821 Wade Nash Road, which is a 4.65 acre site located just west of North Broad Street on the north side of town. Sealed proposals were due by November 25. 

The planned facility will be some 12,000 square-feet in size, with three drive-through bays. It will also house the Fire Prevention Division, with office and work space for the Administrative Chief, the Fire Marshal, and four Deputy Fire Marshals. Plus “antique truck storage and history room,” notes the project overview. How cool is that?!

Facebook Comments

Wake County Fire Districts Commission, 1954

Posted by on

In 1954, the Wake County Board of Commissioners created the Wake County Fire Districts Commission. This was the first group to govern the new rural-serving volunteer fire departments that were being organized in the county. Below is the resolution that created the group, from county minutes. View those minutes on this site. 

RESOLUTION

September 7, 1954

WHEREAS, by G.S. Section 153.9 (39) the Board of County Commissioners of Wake County is authorized and empowered to provide for the organization, equipment, maintenance and the governing of fire companies; and

WHERAS, the Board of Commissioners of Wake County is of the opinion and have found and determined that it is for the best interest and necessary for the protection of the citizens of said County and their property to encourage and financially aid in the equipment, the maintenance and government of volunteer fire departments in said County for the protection of the public school buildings and farm buildings, and to establish a protective fire fighting organization for the purpose of civil defense; and

WHEREAS, certain fire departments, as specified in the fire districts of Wake County, meet the qualifications and regulations as outlined in this resolution and will, therefore, be established as fire districts under the minimum qualifications as specified by the North Carolina Fire Insurance Rating Bureau;

Continue reading ‘Wake County Fire Districts Commission, 1954’ »

Facebook Comments

Raleigh Fire Department History – Charts and Data

Posted by on

This posting with updated on January 11, 2023, with additional charts: extra-alarm fires and recruit graduating class sizes. 

Random data play about the Raleigh Fire Department. These charts originally appeared as postings on Legeros Fire Line on Facebook. They were created using Excel. 

Extra-Alarm Fires

This chart compares the counts of extra-alarm fires in Raleigh from January 2022 to July 2022. 

Counts of Companies

This chart shows the number of aerial ladder companies[1], service ladder companies, rescue companies[2], and battalion chiefs over time.

[1] Staffed companies are counting, versus frontline apparatus + reserve apparatus.
[2] Beginning in 1953, “Raleigh Rescue” operated a two-piece unit, but the larger rescue rarely responding. Thus the count is shown as one instead of two, to keep apples to apples in comparing with later counts.

Population Growth vs. Response Growth

This chart compares population growth (orange) and call volume growth (blue) in a given year. Sorry for the gaps. Also, the number ranges are not equivalent. The population range is 10x (or more) of the call volume range. Also, also, the first responder program expanded citywide in 1980, which is a notable factor for the change in growth rate. 

Most Popular Month for Opening New Fire Stations

This section was written on May 29, 2022.

New Station 22 is opening soon. As it happens, June is the most frequent month for opening newly constructed city fire stations in the career-era of RFD. (Meaning, opening a new fire station in a newly construction building. New stations in temporary facilities are excluded.) Here’s that distribution, from data beginning in 1926. See comments for source data. Which specific dates are the most popular? Those are June 9 (3), June 15 (2), and October 9 (2).

Note: Station 22 opened on August 2, 2022.

Recruit Academy Starting Sizes

This section was written on May 28, 2022. The chart was updated on January 11, 2023, adding Academy 49. 

Recruit Academy 48 started this week with 56 new recruits. It’s the largest academy in city history. What has that distribution looked like over time? Here’s a chart of academy sizes, plus notes on those years that new stations and new ladder companies were added, and those academies that started concurrently, or included members of other departments.

Recruit Academy Graduating Class Sizes

This section was written on January 11, 2023

Recruit Academy 48 graduated late last month. Here’s a chart of graduating class sizes. It includes the very short Academy 49, which graduated the city’s first lateral-hired firefighters in the fall. 

 

Facebook Comments

Garner Merger Community Meeting

Posted by on

Merger alert. The Garner Fire Department and the Town of Garner are holding a pair of community information meetings this week, about a possible merger between the two organizations.  They’ll be held on January 11 and January 12, see announcement below for times and locations.

Facebook Comments

Wake County Fire Commission Meeting – January 12, 2023

Posted by on

The Wake County Fire Commission will hold a regular meeting on Thursday, January 12, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., at the Wake County Emergency Services Education Center, 221 S. Rogers Lane, Raleigh, NC 27610. 

The agenda and meeting documents are below.  

View Meeting Documents

Recording

Afterward, listen to the audio recording, as linked from this page.

Agenda

  • Meeting Called to Order: Director Darrell Alford
    • Invocation
    • Pledge of allegiance
    • Roll call of membership
    • Election of a Chair
    • Election of a Vice Chair
    • Approval of Agenda
    • Approval of September 15, 2022 Regular Meeting Minutes
  • Public Comments:
  • Regular Agenda
    • 200 Club – Larry Stanford
    • Fund Balance Update – John Stephenson
    • Updates to the Staffing & Compensation Guidelines
    • Updates to the Fire Commission Rules of Procedures
    • Long Range Plan Semi-Annual Report
  • Information Agenda
    • Fire Tax Financial Report – Budget Analyst Aaron Brown
    • Standing Committee Updates
      • Administrative
      • Apparatus
      • Budget
      • Communications
      • Equipment
      • Facility
      • Health & Wellness
      • Training
      • Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Committee
    • Chair Report
    • Fire Services Report
      • Update on Northern Wake Fire Station Land Search
      • NCDOI ( Wendell )
  • Adjournment – Next Meeting – April 13, 2023 6pm
Facebook Comments