Recounting the story of the major waterfront fire on the Wilmington, NC, waterfront on March 9, 1953. Retrospective Read retrospective (PDF) from 2009 by Chris Nelson. Newspapers Hugh Morson Photos Via these blog posts: Greatest Fire in Wilmington’s History Rages on the Waterfront and 1953 Wilmington Shipping Co. Fire
Research resource alert. Via New Hanover Public Library, pair of National Board of Fire Underwriters reports for Wilmington in 1949 and 1958. These are highly detailed accounts of the fire department, the fire alarm and water systems, and more. Read digital versions in this library at https://legeros.com/history/library/_nbfu And drop a line of you have other …
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Found a fine reference document about all things related to the Wilmington Fire Department. Standards of Cover from September 2023. Generously informative document that includes a nice history section. There’s even a full fleet listing on page 120. Copied and stored here, read document (PDF). See also, Wilmington Fire History by Legeros.
Presenting research notes on the history of ambulance and rescue services in New Hanover County. View chart – JPG | PDF See below for selected notes. See this Google Drive folder for 200+ articles, including those referenced below. 1950s 1957, Feb – Cape Fear Ambulance Service was under new management, prices reduced, read an advertisement. …
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Research notes on the history of Wilmington Fire Department’s rescue squads and ambulances. See second blog posting for wider history of New Hanover County ambulance and rescue services. See also, Wilmington Fire History by Legeros. 1969 WFD placed first rescue unit in service. [SN, 6/30/71] Was a utility-type truck and was not equipped for transport. 1971, …
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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting. Presenting fire apparatus past and present that have served at Wilmington International Airport. 1954 ALF Type O-11A – 500/1000/100/80 Likely serial #54L210, which was former NCANG Included 80 gallons Chlorobromomethane Possibly sold at auction, along with second 1954 ALF crash truck, at surplus airport property sale …
Research notes about Wilmington and New Hanover County auxiliary firefighters during World War II. This was a national civilian defense initiative, and auxiliary firefighters were trained and equipped in cities and towns across North Carolina. Wilmington Auxiliary Apparatus Among the equipment acquired and developed for the program by members of the Wilmington Fire Department were …
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While in Baltimore July 2010, for the occasion of the annual fire expo, Mr. History was poking around a random marina. Imagine his surprise when he found the T. B. McClintic, an old tug that had served the Wilmington, NC, fire department for a few decades as the fire boat Atlantic IV. Wish we’d taken …
How about a dip into Raleigh-Wake civil defense history? Reader Scott Womack acquired a Raleigh Civil Defense Director badge and asks, who would’ve worn this? Let’s try to answer the question via some News & Observer articles and other sources. Pre-History – During World War II there were numerous civilian defense initiatives both in Raleigh and …
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This is a version of a Facebook posting from February 2021. It has been expanded with additional data. Last updated, June 10, 2024. Introduction This blog post presents research notes from newspaper stories about Wake County rescue squad responses to drownings in ponds, lakes, or creeks in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Drownings were a …
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