From page 51 of the previously posted Charlotte Fire Department annual report of calendar year 1953, here’s a neat summary of the rescue squad organization’s activities, members, and assets. Their equipment included three iron lungs! The Charlotte Rescue and First Aid Squad was a private corporation that was chartered in July 1947. They were one …
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With the coming closure of Apex EMS on June 30, 2018, here’s an updated version of my Wake County EMS System family tree. Includes numerous nips ‘n’ tucks as well, and a couple added notes about recent milestones. Visualizes the origins of local ambulance and rescue services, from the original funeral home providers, to the …
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“Believed to be the only ambulance as such owned by a volunteer fire department in North Carolina,” noted the Duplin Times on July 14, 1955. See article below Definitely one of the earliest. What other volunteer (only) departments were operating ambulances at that time? That’s the open question to readers, to accompany these neat pictures …
Continue reading ‘Kenansville Fire Department Starts Ambulance Service, 1955’ »
Last week, the town of Apex announced that their EMS service is ending on June 30. Wake County EMS will begin providing service to the town, and Apex EMS will be dissolved as a town department. See the announcement below. Apex Volunteer Rescue Squad was organized in 1971. Their first vehicle was a 1956 Pontiac Superior ambulance and …
Continue reading ‘After 47 Years of Service, Apex EMS is Ending’ »
Found this in the November-December 1976 issue of Hose & Nozzle magazine. Ambulance operated by Wilkinson Boulevard Fire Department in Mecklenburg County. [ Was that typical or atypical of Meck departments at the time? Operating squads? ] WBFD was one of the first rural fire departments in North Carolina. They operated from 1943 to 1984, when they …
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This is a re-posting of a Blog Archives posting that is no longer available. It was originally posted on May 5, 2013. Introduction What was were the first rescue squads in North Carolina? This question was recently discussed on Facebook. Below are some of the highlights Note that “rescue squad” often meant the equivalent of …
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Update 8:14 a.m. – Corrected to note that Eastern Wake EMS will exclusively occupy the facility. Wake County is building a new EMS station at 3001 Wendell Boulevard, which is across the street-and-to-the-right from the fire station. It will replace the current Wendell Main EMS Station, located downtown. Construction is nearing completion. Lee Wilson took this …
This is a re-posting of a Legeros Blog Archives posting from December 7, 2009, that’s no longer available on the old site, due to technical problems. On Sunday, September 28, 1980, fifteen ambulances assisted with moving 170 patients from Rex Hospital on St. Mary’s Street to their new location on Lake Boone Trail.1 Teams of …
Here’s a rarity, a citizen recording of an entire EMS call, from just after calling 911, to transport of the patient. Raleigh and New Hope fire departments, and Wake County EMS responded. Happened on July 7, when C. Spencer was bicycling on the Neuse River Greenway and happened upon an adult male suffering from multiple …
Continue reading ‘Bicyclist Finds Bee Sting Victim, Records Fire/EMS Response’ »
For your Friday enjoyment, here’s a vintage brochure from Murphy Body Works in Wilson, NC. Advertised is a low-profile, light-duty rescue truck that they built for Zebulon Rescue Squad. The chassis was a 1975-76 GMC Sierra and it replaced a 1954 GMC panel van and ex-Raleigh Rescue Squad vehicle. It served until 1995, when replaced with a …
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