Eastern Wake Fire-Rescue Merges with Town of Knightdale

This posting will be updated as more information is provided about the operations of the newly expanded Knightdale Fire Department. July 8 Here’s the post-merger list of units and their locations: Engines / Squads E131 – Clifton Street (Sta 1) – 2007 Pierce Contender pumper-tanker, 1250/1000 – Ex-EWFD E132 – Steeple Square (Sta 2) – …

Continue reading ‘Eastern Wake Fire-Rescue Merges with Town of Knightdale’ »

Raleigh’s Mobile Life Safety System Lab

See more photos at https://legeros.smugmug.com/Fire-Photos/2020/2020-06-rfd-sprinkler-trailer Introduction Let’s take a look inside the Raleigh Fire Department’s new Mobile Life Safety Systems Simulator Lab. It was developed by the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) as a portable teaching tool for firefighters, fire inspectors, and business owners to learn about the inner workings of fire alarm, fire …

Continue reading ‘Raleigh’s Mobile Life Safety System Lab’ »

Early Knightdale Tankers

This posting originated on Facebook and the content was moved to the blog on June 24. Let’s see if we can make some sense of Knightdale’s early tankers. Here’s what’s found in the old meeting minutes, plus a couple other sources: First Unknown year, International, 1200 gallons Served 1957 to 1971 — 1956, Aug 02 …

Continue reading ‘Early Knightdale Tankers’ »

Vintage Durham County Tanker

Here’s another vintage image. Rare photo from Jonathan Umbdenstock of Durham County’s original tanker, a 1966 International with a body built in Raleigh. Odds favor either Alexander Welding or Atlas Steel. Scanned from film print. Had a capacity of 1,200 gallons with a gas-powered pump in the rear, at least at the time of delivery. …

Continue reading ‘Vintage Durham County Tanker’ »

Apex Adds Second Ladder, Staffed Rescue

News from Apex. They’ve added a second, fully-staffed ladder company, effective April 6. On that date, Ladder 34 (at Station 4) and Ladder 35 (at Station 5) were both in service. This followed the graduation of a recruit academy, which added sixteen firefighters to the full-time ranks. The backstory on the second ladder company is …

Continue reading ‘Apex Adds Second Ladder, Staffed Rescue’ »

New Ladder for Fuquay-Varina

The Town of Fuquay-Varina recently received a new ladder truck. This 2019 Spartan/Smeal rear-mount, 1500/400/105-foot was delivered on February 27, 2020.  Specs include: Four-section ladder and 105 feet of heavy-duty 100,000 psi steel and features a 750 pound working tip load without any restrictions in relation to elevation, extension or rotation, while flowing 1,500 GPM. …

Continue reading ‘New Ladder for Fuquay-Varina’ »

New Ladder for Apex

Recording this older news as a blog post, for the historical record. Late last year, the town of Apex received a new ladder truck, a 2019 Spartan/Smeal, 2000/400/105-foot. It was delivered in September/October. Exact date TBD.  New Ladder 35 was placed in service at Station 5 on January __, 2020. It was operated at Station …

Continue reading ‘New Ladder for Apex’ »