Wilmington Airport Fire Department History

This posting was original created in January 2017 and has been updated in August 2025 to incorporate later content. Vintage Badge Found for sale on eBay, a vintage Wilmington airport fire department badge, back when the airport was called Bluethenthal Field. It was named for aviator Arthur Bluethenthal, the first person from Wilmington killed in …

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Raleigh Fire Department Newsletter – Winter 2017

What’s been happening lately with your fire department? See the latest issue of the Raleigh Fire Department newsletter. Incidents, events, promotions, retirements, facility updates, and more. Plus pictures. And all inside of eight pages. The newsletter is published three times yearly. The editor is Yours Truly, and who is ably assisted by many in the department’s …

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Statesville Fire Captain Killed by Bomb Blast, 1967

On November 22, 1967, Statesville Fire Captain Lee Roy Horton, 41, was killed in a bomb blast, when his booby-trapped personal vehicle exploded beside Station 2 on Security Drive. This unusual story comes by way of the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation. They’ve announced this year’s honorees to be added to the state memorial on …

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Raleigh Fire Department Joins Chico’s Army to Help Raise Awareness of Cancer Dangers

This week, the City of Raleigh Fire Department received a very special delivery: a motorized scooter that’s travelling across five states to help raise awareness of cancer dangers. On Wednesday afternoon, Fayetteville firefighters delivered a motorized scooter to the Raleigh Fire Department training center on Keeter Center Drive. On Thursday morning, Raleigh firefighters departed for the …

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Whispering Pines Firefighter Dies Following Fire Call

Belated posting. Whispering Pines Fire Department Lt. Donald “Reid” Key II died on December 27, two days after developing a headache, after returning to the station following a fire call. The headache worsened the following day, and his wife took him  to Moore County Regional Hospital in Pinehurst. After an evaluation, he was airlifted to UNC-Chapel …

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Durham Highway Changes Unit Numbers

On December 21, the Durham Highway Fire Department changed the unit numbers of their apparatus. They’re now using a numbering scheme that’s based on their Wake County fire station numbers:   Durham Highway joins the following other Wake County fire departments, that also use that numbering scheme: Bay Leaf – 12/120s, 25/250s, 36/360s Hopkins – …

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Glen Lennox Fire Department in Chapel Hill

November 18, 2019 Found some more information, from this Durham Morning Herald story, December 28, 1950: ” Glen Lennox Residents Get New Fire Truck – Chapel Hill, Dec. 27 – Residents of the Glen Lennox housing project awoke Christmas morning to the music of a fire siren and looked out of their windows to view …

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Fairview Fire Starts First Responder – Carolina Rural Fireman, April 1982

Vintage article from a publication called Carolina Rural Fireman, in April 1982. Thanks to our friend Joseph Zalkin for finding in his archives. About the first county fire department First Responder program implemented by the Fairview Fire Department. Other early implementations included the City of Raleigh (1977, first field use; 1980, city-wide), Raleigh-Durham Airport (1978), …

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Vintage Film – A Will and a Way, 1975 – The Story of the NC EMS System

From his archives of retired Wake County EMS veteran Joseph Zalkin comes this 19-minute short film, A Will and a Way – The Story of Emergency Medical Services in North Carolina.  Produced by the North State Office of EMS with a grant from the North Carolina Association of Insurance Agents, it describes the evolution of the …

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Lebanon’s New Engine… And Other Notes

The Lebanon Fire Department in Durham County has taken delivery of a 2016 Pierce Enforcer pumper-tanker, 1500/1250. New Engine 511, replacing a 2002 E-One Typhoon, which has been disposed to Smith Chapel FD in Duplin County. Should be in service any day now. It’s also a rare Pierce for Durham County, maybe only the second for …

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