Standard Hose Threads… Statewide? – 1934

In August 1933, the members of the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association went on record as favoring standard hose threads for all fire departments in the state. This would aid in mutual aid situations, so visiting apparatus could connect with a particular town or city’s apparatus and water system. A committee was formed on the matter, …

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Durham Fire Chief Dies – November 1946

Found this while doing other research last week. We first discussed on the Facebook side. Memo to self: add to fallen firefighters database. On November 26, 1946, Durham Fire Chief Frank W. Bennett died at Watts Hospital. His death was duty-related. Chief Bennett became ill on November 6, while supervising a fire at the Durham Mattress …

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Bring Out Your Buckets! – Hillsborough, 1777

In 1777, the state legislature passed an Act for the Regulation of the Town of Hillsborough, which included that every household have two buckets and one ladder, and keep them “in continual readiest” in case of fire. This pre-dates by decades the 1848 references in town minutes to fire equipment. See that history here, by …

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Two Alarms on Crossroads Arbor Way

Evening update: See Legeros photos. Two alarms were struck yesterday at 1723 Crossroads Arbor Way. Two-story, garden-style apartment building with sixteen units and 10,656 square-feet. Built 1999. Dispatched 2:19 p.m. Upgraded to working fire while companies were en route, based on caller information. Swift Creek Car 1 first-arriving, followed by Swift Creek Engine 1. Fire found …

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Fire and Fire Control in Colonial Wilmington – 1975

Yes, it’s history month at Blog Central. Was shown this last week, from a fellow research. The story of fire protection in Colonial Wilmington, from a May 1975 article in the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society Bulletin.  Includes details on what was likely North Carolina’s first hand engine, delivered circa 1756. Plus a few details on …

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Fiftieth Anniversary of the Salem Fire Department – 1893

Here’s a vintage booklet about the Salem Fire Department, printed for the occasion of their fiftieth anniversary, celebrated on September 16, 1893. The twenty-page booklet includes a history of the department going back to the Moravian settlement of 1766, and first fire protection laws in 1773. It’s presented courtesy of Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare …

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Boston Buys Fire Engine For Fayetteville – 1832

The story’s been long-told that Fayetteville received a hand engine from Boston in 1832, in the year following the great fire of May 29, 1831. But get this, it was donated by the Boston Fire Department and bought with “voluntary subscription of its members.” From the Fayetteville Observer on May 22, 1832, the engine had …

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Holiday Island Fire Brigade

This is a blog version of a Facebook posting created on November 14, 2022. Holiday Island Fire Brigade, created in 1984 to protect the resort community in Perquimans County. The community was located some four miles outside of the nearby Bethel VFD district. Organized in July 1984, it protected about 250 residential structures and 106 …

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