As Hurricane Florence approaches, many in Raleigh are remembering Hurricane Fran from 22 years ago. The storm struck the city with hurricane-force winds on Thursday night, September 5, 1996. During a three-day period, the Raleigh Fire Department answered nearly 700 calls, with call types ranging from fires (46) and medical emergencies (142), to flooding (33) …
Wrapped another squirrel chase! This one started as a question: what’s the origin story of New Hanover’s county fire department? How did a system of community (or “rural”) volunteer fire departments (Castle Hayne, Myrtle Grove, North Wilmington, etc.) evolve into a career, county-run department? It’s a story told in two parts. First, in 1950, with …
Continue reading ‘New Hanover County Fire History – Research Notes’ »
Found for sale on eBay. Readers can add makes/models/years. Look like (bad) scans of physical prints. Maybe some of Tony Kelly’s postcard pics, from back in the day? Click to (slightly) enlarge:
Random historical artifact, by way of the New Hanover County Library’s North Carolina Room. Technical report on the county (and city) fire protection. Includes a four-page response from the volunteer fire departments, clarifying and refuting some points. Includes some nifty details of the time, including a Wilmington FD org chart, and a list of all …
Continue reading ‘Wilmington-New Hanover County Fire Protection Report – 1971’ »
The Winston-Salem Fire Department recently re-dedicated their Fire Station 7, after completing a two-year renovation project. Below are some details of the project as well as before and after floor plans. Thanks to the Fire Chief’s office, for sharing. Located at 100 Arbor Road, the “Buena Vista Fire Station” was opened in 1951. It houses the department’s …
Continue reading ‘Before and After Floor Plans – Winston-Salem Station 7’ »
The following full-page commentary, bought as an advertisement, appeared in the Wilmington Star-News in late 1993 or early 1994. It presents opinions of the county’s volunteer fire departments, and their reactions to recent events of the time, including the closure of North Wilmington VFD that year, new county requirements for VFDs for financial accounting, and county plans …
Earlier this month, Mr. Blogger gave a presentation at the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo. The topic was Preserving Your Fire Department’s Heritage. He’s posted a copy of his presentation slides (PDF, 22M). They’re heavily annotated, with versions of his spoken remarks and other errata. The outline: Introduction What is history? Learning your history Preserving …
Been open a week. Left to right are exits for Ladder 8, Battalion 2, and Engine 12. Car 20, the shift commander (Division Chief), exits through rear middle. . Here’s a clip of the doors opening as the drone pulls away. Needs trucks rolling. Next time. Plus, as posted earlier on Twitter and Facebook, here …
August 16, 2018 Here’s an audio recording of the work session, by Legeros. Using phone, in pocket. Apologies for quality. Download audio. (MP3, 84 M) Summary: Fire Services Director gave a presentation, with brief recap of background and extended, expanded information on several points. Commission members conducted discussion. Fairview Fire Department gave a ten-minute statement. …
Continue reading ‘Audio + Recap – Wake County Fire Commission Work Session – August 16’ »
Found for sale on eBay, scans of photographs of the Frisco (Dare) and Triangle (Davidson) fire departments. Both from the 1970s, say seller notes. The Frisco picture is a grayscale scan from the seller.