New Admin Offices for Garner Fire

The Garner Fire Department this week moved their administrative offices to 120 E. Main Street, a former police substation. It’s also a historic building. The one-story, 2100 square-foot structure was built in 1918. And renovated in 2006, say tax records. Car 1, Car 2, Car 3, and the administrative assistant were relocated to new office …

Continue reading ‘New Admin Offices for Garner Fire’ »

Vintage News Article – Brevard Fire Department, 1950

Here’s another vintage news article, again via North Carolina Newspapers. Date line September 1, 1950. Brevard Fire Department as featured in The Echo, as digitized by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. The two-page story includes a nice picture of their gorgeous 1945 American LaFrance 500 Series triple combination. They still have …

Continue reading ‘Vintage News Article – Brevard Fire Department, 1950’ »

Restoration Update: Salisbury’s 1941 American LaFrance Aerial Ladder

Last month, an update on Salisbury’s restoration of their 1941 aerial ladder was shared in this Facebook posting by the Carolina’s Chapter of SPAAMFAA: Rekindle Society group. The truck is a 1941 American LaFrance Type M-190 mid-mount aerial ladder (65-foot), registration number L-1627, shipped February 13, 1942. No pump, but was equipped to carry 1,000 …

Continue reading ‘Restoration Update: Salisbury’s 1941 American LaFrance Aerial Ladder’ »

Fleet Photos – Ash-Rand Rescue & EMS

Happened upon the Ash-Rand Rescue building in Asheboro on Sunday, after a zoo visit. Found a school bus-turned-command post in the parking lot. The two-story building was chock full of rescue and EMS vehicles. (Something no longer seen in Wake County, where rescue services are nearly exclusively performed by fire departments. The exception is R.E.D.S, …

Continue reading ‘Fleet Photos – Ash-Rand Rescue & EMS’ »

History Map – Raleigh Fire Facilities, 1853 to 1912

For your Saturday viewing pleasure, here’s a new version of my Raleigh Fire Department Downtown History Map. We’ve seen this before in an earlier blog post. There’s also a PDF copy on my RFD history site. This version displays fire department facilities from the volunteer era only. From the first engine house erected in 1853, …

Continue reading ‘History Map – Raleigh Fire Facilities, 1853 to 1912’ »

Fire Station Slide in North Charleston

Saw this on Twitter this morning, from WCIV4 reporter Rob Mallia as retweeted by FDMaps.com. Feature of North Charleston’s new Station 2 at 2800 Carner Avenue. (They’re the third-largest city in SC, incidentally.) Formal opening ceremonies were held today. The 18,000 square-foot station houses two engines and a ladder company, has five “engine bays,” plus …

Continue reading ‘Fire Station Slide in North Charleston’ »

Spencer Shops Fire Department Reel Team, 1924

From the North Carolina State Archives comes this picture of the Spencer Shops Fire Department (competition) reel team in 1924. They’re posed “in town” and beside the Methodist church at the corner of Fourth Street and Yadkin Avenue. The industrial fire brigade protected the Southern Railway’s Spencer Shops, once the railroad’s largest steam locomotive repair …

Continue reading ‘Spencer Shops Fire Department Reel Team, 1924’ »

Vintage News Story on Black Firefighters – Carolina Times, 1952

Here’s an interesting slice of social history, beginning with the provocative headline “Negro Firemen Acquit Themselves Well In Few Dixie Cities; Durham Hasn’t Warmed Up To Idea.” It was found via North Carolina Newspapers, a neat site with access to hundreds of digitized newspapers from around the state. Below is the front page of Durham’s …

Continue reading ‘Vintage News Story on Black Firefighters – Carolina Times, 1952’ »

Vintage Photo of Pilot’s First Fire Apparatus

Found this in my files, a vintage photo (photographed, not scanned) from the Pilot Fire Department in Franklin County. These were their first fire engines. Right is a 1952 Ford/____ pumper, ex-Wendell. (That a Howe body?) Bought in 1974 when PFD was organized. Left is a former gasoline tanker that was donated and converted into …

Continue reading ‘Vintage Photo of Pilot’s First Fire Apparatus’ »

Durham County EMS Adds Major Incident Unit

Durham County EMS has taken delivery of a new Major Incident Response Vehicle (MIRV). The 2015 Freightliner 192/Hackney is named MIRV-1. It carries multi-patient incident equipment and supplies for 25 people, including marking cones for triage, treatment, and transportation areas. MIRV is also well-equipped for the winter storm that passed through. The truck has a …

Continue reading ‘Durham County EMS Adds Major Incident Unit’ »