Let’s start a list of Oren apparatus that served in North Carolina. Pictured rigs marked with (*): *Burlington – 1940 Diamond T/Oren – #RW&E-1363 – Legeros photo *Cape Fear Rural (Lee) – 1953 Ford/Oren – Engine 51 – Lee Wilson photo *Charlotte – 1953 Ford Big Job/Oren, 500/1000 – Engine 10 at Morris Field, high-pressure unit …
Morning history. Random find. Ten years ago this week, the Wake County Board of Commissioners received a presentation from county staff on the future of fire service in the Fire Tax District, which comprises the unincorporated areas of the county plus the town of Wendell. The county funds protection in those areas through contracts with …
Continue reading ‘Ten Years Ago – Future of Fire Service in the Fire Tax District’ »
This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from August 23, 2017. What are some of the smallest active fire station in North Carolina, as of August 2017? 1,040 s.f. – Penderlea Station 2, 363 Watha Road. 1,700~ s.f. – Clinton Station 22. 1,786 s.f. – Durham Station 5, 2212 Chapel Hill Road. Built …
This content first appeared in the older blog on January 19, 2013. Hey Mike, do you have a master list of all Raleigh Fire Department badge numbers[1], from long ago? Negative. Haven’t come across in 20+ years of research. Some clues have presented, however. This list of names, addresses, and badge and helmet numbers was …
This was previously posted in the old blog on January 19, 2013. Found in a log book in 2012, radio records for the Raleigh Fire Department circa 1957. Guessing that date as Engine 7 isn’t list, though Engine 9 is noted, which was the second engine at Station 1.
Morning history. Random find. The first “rural truck” in Wake County history. Built by members of the Apex Fire Department in 1952, to expand service to “rural residents,” e.g. those that lived outside of the town limits. News & Observer photos from May (top) and August (bottom) 1952, scanned from film prints. Reported the paper …
Updated December 2022 with content from archive blog postings, replacing links to pages no longer available. Back in 2009, we published a series of blog postings, listing vintage fire cause reports from around North Carolina from the late 1940s through the late 1950s, as (a.) reported to the State Insurance Commissioner’s office, (b.) compiled by …
Continue reading ‘Cigarette Carried to Attic By Pigeon and Other Unusual Fire Causes’ »
Updated on December 11, 2022. Chart has been pushed to production, version 1.0. Here’s a draft of a Durham fire history chart, created in early 2020 during a run on DFD research. Let’s revisit and push the thing to production, shall we? View as JPG | View as PDF | Or via this Google Drive See …
Continue reading ‘Visual History of Durham Fire Department’ »
One of the longest-serving captains in the history of the Raleigh Fire Department is retiring. Captain Rich Coats (top right) will retire on January 1, 2023, with 36.28 years of service, including 23.99 years as a captain. He’ll rank just a hair behind Captain James C. Munns (bottom), who retired in 1999 with 37.36 years …
From the archives. Random find. Utility poles in downtown Raleigh that once had emergency phones mounted. September 2010. Plus one historical picture. In 1971, city officials authorized installation of a telephone system to replace the familiar fire alarm boxes and for reasons including the frequency of false calls. By that year, false calls accounted for …