Cary Receives First of Two Tillers On September 1, 2019, the Cary Fire Department received the first of two twin tillers, a 2019 Pierce Enforcer Ascendant 1500/200/107-foot. The second is finishing production. Also, a third tiller will be (or has been?) ordered for this fiscal year. Photographer Lee Wilson was on hand, and has posted …
Time for another chart! Here’s the visual history of the steam fire engines in North Carolina, beginning with their heyday in the 1860s and 1870s. They were labor savers that transformed the hand-powered fire service, although a few steamers were also hand-pulled during their early years. See the chart in JPG format (2.4M) or PDF …
Continue reading ‘Visual History of North Carolina Steam Fire Engines’ »
From the Department of Gender Studies, here are a couple stories from the 1890s about the Greensboro Fire Department’s Eagle Hose Company’s “mascot,” Miss Lillian Brown. Plus a photograph that appeared in the 1896 proceedings of the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association. Newspapers copied from newspapers.com, via free access from the NC State Government & …
Continue reading ‘Miss Lillian Brown – Mascot of Greensboro’s Eagle Hose Company’ »
Also found these last week, very early Charlotte news stories about their first fire engine and fire company. They’re dated between 1834 and 1845. Plus an 1856 story about a public meeting held for the purpose of organizing, or perhaps re-organizing, the fire department. Good breadcrumb trail for anyone interested in pursuing. From newspapers.com via …
Continue reading ‘Early Charlotte Fire Department History’ »
Found these last week. Newspaper article about an early iteration of the Wilmington Fire Department in 1842. Might be the original or first “formal” version of WFD. Plus an editorial from the year before, with detailed suggestions for same. Plus an account of the great 1840 fire, that they reference. From newspapers.com via free access …
Continue reading ‘Wilmington Fire Department Organized – 1842’ »
For your Monday enjoyment, vintage images of Greenville and Pitt County rescue trucks, as photographed by the Daily Reflector in the 1950s and 1960s, via Joyner Library at East Carolina University, via their Digital Collections. See individual images on the Facebook side, in this photo album.
Here’s something interesting. Couple stories from 1874-75 suggesting that the Charlotte Fire Department’s famous 1866 Jeffers hand engine–see in recent years at special events statewide–was once named “Crazy Hannah.” The articles are attached below. See what you think. CFD reacquired the engine on March 28, 2012. It was originally purchased by the city in 1866, and …
Continue reading ‘Was Charlotte’s 1866 Hand Engine Named… Crazy Hannah??’ »
With the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo starting next week in Raleigh, here’s a visual history of the prior conference locations. In the style of a heat map. Needs a little work. Starting with a better base map. Also, Winston (2) and Winston-Salem (9) are merged into one, with Winston-Salem (11). Also, also, tournaments were …
Question from reader Dave Parker, asking the age of this North Carolina Pump School booklet, that someone at his station received from a retired guy some time ago. Answers Legeros, it likely dates from between 1953 and 1966. Those were the years that the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association conducted an annual pump school separate …
Notes for the archives. Two alarms were struck on August 2, 2019, at Crossroads Fellowship Church at 2721 E. Millbrook Road. Dispatched as an automatic fire alarm at 11:03 p.m. for Engine 19 and Ladder 2. Units arrived at a one-story, concrete, warehouse-type building with 220,000+ square-feet. Nothing showing on arrival on Engine 19. As …
Continue reading ‘Two Alarms on Millbrook Road – August 2’ »