Emergency Landing at Winston-Salem Airport, 1971

From the May-June 1971 issue of Hose and Nozzle magazine. Piedmont Airlines prop plane made an emergency landing at Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem. Jammed landing gear forced a belly landing. Runway foaming was started, but stopped when the pilot reported that the plane had only a few more minutes of fuel. It had circled …

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Pullen Road Extension – Historical Perspective

The long-awaited Pullen Road extension opened yesterday. Here’s a city news release about the $3.8M project that extends Pullen Road to Centennial Campus Parkway, by way of a new roundabout at Bilyeu Street.   But did you know that Avent Ferry Road originally ran through there, and connected with Western Boulevard just east of Pullen Road? Below …

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North Carolina Black Fire Companies in 1905

Here’s a historical treat. Tabular data of the state’s black fire companies in 1905, in Concord, Durham, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Greenville, Henderson, Monroe, Oxford, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Salisbury, Statesville, Tarboro, Warrenton, Washington, Wilson, and Winston-Salem. Click to enlarge: These pages are from digitized conference proceedings of the North Carolina State Volunteer Firemen’s Association. They were …

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Building a Better Rescue

This posting is an expanded version of an article that first appeared in the fall 2018 issue of the Raleigh Fire Department Newsletter. New Rescue, New Quarters The City of Raleigh Fire Department recently placed a new heavy rescue in service, a 2018 Pierce Arrow XT that was custom-designed by department members. The truck was …

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Legislation Proposed for Fairview Fire District

Here’s some surprising news. Local legislation has been introduced to the North Carolina General Assembly, to remove the Fairview (Ten Ten) Fire District from the governance and jurisdiction of Wake County. It was introduced on November 28 by Representative Nelson Dollar.   Read the text of the House Bill (broken).  Recall that the department has been strongly critical …

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Meet Raleigh’s New Firefighters

On Wednesday night, December 5, twenty-seven new firefighters will join the ranks of the Raleigh Fire Department. Recruit Academy 43 will graduate in a ceremony at 7:00 p.m. at the Fletcher Opera Theater in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South Street. The new firefighters have completed 32-weeks of classroom, practical …

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When Gateway Plaza Burned, December 1987

December 2 Log book excerpts added at bottom of posting. November 25 Development is comin’ to the Capital Boulevard corridor inside the Beltline. Or, perhaps, more development. The Gateway Plaza shopping center, built in 1968, is planned for Big Things. Here are a couple news stories on same, from the Triangle Business Journal (2016) and News & …

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Locating a Line of Duty Death – Cary, 1960

November 19 Looking More Closely… Let’s revisit our recent postings about the June 16, 1960, apparatus accident that killed Cary firefighter Vernon Thompson. Super-close cropping of the News and Observer images gives clues on the Raleigh FD response to the incident. Observe what’s seen here. Top is one of the city’s four 1951/1953 ALF 700 …

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