Visual History of Raleigh Aerial Apparatus

Updated November 24, 2023 – Added picture of new Ladder 22 plus all service ladder trucks of yore. Presenting a new infographic, this time with a visual history of Raleigh Fire Department aerial apparatus, sorted by manufacturer. And, in the case of Pierce, further sorted by apparatus type.  View JPG version. Very PDF version. See …

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Johnston County Foam Units

This content was originally posted on Facebook in May 2020. In the late 1970s, the first foam unit in Johnston County was created as a project of the Johnston County Firemen’s Association. The tractor-drawn tanker had a circa 1970 White 4000 tractor and a 1957 Heil tanker body, 6000 gallons, that had been modified to …

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New CFR 2 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport

On Tuesday afternoon, May 2, 2023, new CFR 2 was placed in service at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). The 2022 Oshkosh Global Striker 3000, 2000/3000/420/550# was delivered in March. See gallery of Legeros pics. It replaces a 2000 Oshkosh TI-1500, 1500/210/450#, which will be placed in reserve service as CFR 5. It’ll be the airport’s …

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Fire Museum Moves to Blowing Rock, 1959

Note: See also these two active Facebook threads: Legeros Fire Line and SPAAMFAA (private group) Watauga Democrat, May 28, 1959. In May 1959, the fire equipment and fire apparatus collection of Vincent K. O’Meara of Hialeah, FL, was moved to the Tweetsie Railroad attraction in Blowing Rock, NC. The collection had previously been displayed at …

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Baker Fire Apparatus of Charlotte

This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from October 2020. Left to right, top to bottom: Boone (two photos), Winston-Salem (Micah Bodford Collection), Carmel (Micah Bodford Collection). What’s the history of Baker Manufacturing of Charlotte and the fire apparatus they built? They were the Charlotte branch of the Richmond company that later built …

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Aerialscopes of North Carolina

Flash montage. Aerialscopes of North Carolina.  Details below. Avery County 1976 Mack CF/Baker – 0/0/75′ – Ex-???? – Lee Wilson photo Boone 1987 Mack/Baker – 0/0/85′ – Ex-demo unit? – Lee Wilson photo Civietown (Brunswick) 1971 Mack/Baker + 1991 H&W refurb – 0/0/75′ – Ex-King County, WA – Micah Bodford photo Cleveland (Rowan) 1978 Mack/Banker, …

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Snorkels in North Carolina

Last updated February 6, 2023 – Content converted from web page to PDF document. This is a re-posting of a Legeros Blog Archives posting from December 21, 2013, that’s no longer available on the old site, due to technical problems.   Presenting a master list of all articulating platforms, including snorkels, that have served in North …

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Apparatus Accidents with Civilian Fatalities

This is an updated blog version of a Facebook posting from 2009. What’s the historical perspective of civilian fatalities in fire apparatus accidents across our state? Here’s that secret history.  Contents 2023 – Charlotte 2019 – Kannapolis 2011 – Kernersville 2005 – Statesville 1997 – Charlotte 1985 – Greensboro 1982 – Charlotte 1980 – Steele …

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Photographing Fire Apparatus – FireNews Feature From 2008

In 2008, fire buff and photographer Jeff Harkey posted a series of articles about fire apparatus photography on his site FireNews.net. The articles included contributions from photographers Lee Wilson and Mike Legeros. The site and the articles have been preserved by the Internet Archive. Here’s a compilation of the articles in PDF format, created in January …

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