It’s the season of engine swaps in Raleigh, with four new Pierce Sabers and four new Pierce Enforcers delivered this summer. The four Sabers were recently placed in service as Engines 21 26 27 28. The older pumpers assigned to each company have been reassigned to other companies. Here’s a tracking chart of these and …
Last updated August 17, 2025. This is an updated blog version of a Facebook posting from 2009. Research notes on civilian fatalities in fire apparatus accidents in North Carolina. Contents 2025 – Durham – Quint 19 / motorcycle, 1 fatality 2023 – Charlotte – Ladder 24 / motorcycle, 1 fatality 2019 – Kannapolis – …
Continue reading ‘Apparatus Accidents with Civilian Fatalities’ »
Looking back at the natural gas explosion and flash fire in downtown Wilmington August 5, 1987. Timeline On August 5, 1987, Welco Construction and Utilities Company, based in Florence, SC, was excavating in the 4600 block of Market Street. They were installing sanitary sewer lines in preparation for a project to widen Market Street. The …
Continue reading ‘Wilmington Natural Gas Explosion and Fire – August 5, 1987’ »
For our Friday history, let’s head over to Pasquotank County and Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City on July 31, 1974, when Navy radar plane crashed into a building, killing the pilot and three civilian workers inside. Two others aboard the plane survived with injuries, along with 12 others, including several firefighters. On that Wednesday …
Winston-Salem history hit. Before it crashed after a midair collision over Hendersonville, NC, on July 19, 1967, the first passenger jet operated by Piedmont Airlines had an unusual accident on the ground in May 1967. The airline had recently started jet service from their base at Smith Reynolds Airport. However, their hangar was located on …
Continue reading ‘Car Strikes Jet on Ground in Winston-Salem – May 24, 1967’ »
Read retrospective and research notes from 2017 (103M, PDF) See other photos, clippings, and the NTSB report in this Google Drive folder. Introduction Looking back at the deadliest plane crash in North Carolina history, when 82 people were killed on Wednesday, July 19, 1967, after Piedmont Flight 22 collided with a Cessna 310 and both …
Continue reading ‘Piedmont Flight 22 and the Midair Collision Over Hendersonville – July 19, 1967’ »
This is a blog version of a Facebook posting. Another milestone happened on July 1, 2025, in Wake County, when Northern Wake Fire Department ended operations at Station 5 at 1431 Lynn Road, at a facility co-located with Wake County EMS. The station’s response area was redistricted effective that date, with 27 first-due parcels reassigned …
This is a blog version of a Facebook posting. Congratulations to Garner Fire Department and Rolesville Fire Department. Effective July 1, 2025, each merged with their respective municipalities, Town of Garner, NC Government and Town of Rolesville, NC. Congrats to all. They’re two of oldest community fire departments in Wake County. Garner FD was organized …
Continue reading ‘Garner and Rolesville Municipal Mergers’ »
This is a blog version of a Facebook posting. Looking back at the Sedge Garden FD in Forsyth County. Photo from the Winston-Salem Journal, November 14, 1999. They were organized by the Sedge Garden Civic Club and started operating in 1951. Though the project may have been suggested as early as 1949.[1] They were the …
Continue reading ‘Sedge Garden Fire Department / Triangle Fire Department History’ »
This is a blog version of a Facebook posting. Looking back at McCain Sanatorium in Hoke County, which added a fire truck in early 1952, reported the Raleigh News & Observer on February 17, 1952. It was built out of “begging, bolts, screws, and the ingenuity of its driver, Paul Cloer,” who was the maintenance …
Continue reading ‘McCain Sanatorium Fire Department History’ »