Note: This posting is also available as a PDF document. Download. (2.4M) Introduction On May 6, 2020, during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, the North Carolina State Firefighters’ Association (NCSFA) announced the cancellation of their annual conference. The South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo was scheduled to take place in Raleigh on August 12-15, …
Continue reading ‘Cancelled Due to War Conditions – NCSFA Event Histories’ »
Saturday, May 2, 2020, was the planned date for the 15th Annual North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service. Due to the coronavirus, the event was postponed to August, to be co-located with the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo. On Friday, the postponed NCFFF events were announced as cancelled. This year’s addition to the memorial will …
Continue reading ‘Looking Back at North Carolina Fallen Firefighters – May 2020’ »
April 2020 This family tree has been expanded to include Apex and Morrisville, which joined in operational consolidation with the Cary Fire Department in 2019. The new chart reflects the change and the past history of both AFD and MFD. View as jpg | View as pdf (2.1M) October 2016 How about a visual history …
Continue reading ‘Cary, Apex, Morrisville, Western Wake Family Tree’ »
On October 20, 2019, starting at 7:25 p.m., fire and EMS units were dispatched to a reported plane crash at Umstead State Park, which borders Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The dispatched address was the intersection of Ebenezer Church Road and Graylyn Drive. The airport control tower reported loss of radar contact with a light plane, later …
Continue reading ‘Umstead Park Plane Crash, October 2019 – Incident Notes’ »
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 …
For Friday enjoyment, here’s some vintage radio traffic of the Raleigh Fire Department operating at a three-alarm fire off Edwards Mill Road on July 21, 1990. It was recorded by veteran fire buff Jeff Harkey during a period of severe storm activity. The ninety minutes of radio traffic–both before and after the major incident–has been …
Continue reading ‘Vintage Audio – Three Alarms on Edwards Mill Road, 1990’ »
The Raleigh Fire Department ended its horse-drawn era in November 1914. Reported the News and Observer on November 14, 1914: “Faithful Fire Horses No Longer Needed” “Bill and Frank Will Never Again Carry Wagon to a Fire; Both Have Fine Records” “Bill and Frank, the two beautiful black horses of the old Rescue Company, have …
Continue reading ‘Raleigh Retires the Last Fire Horses, November 1914’ »
This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from June 10, 2019. For years, many have heard that the Boone Fire Department in Western North Carolina once had a tiller. And it was parked in the rear of Station 1, in a downstairs bay accessed by an alley. After years of searching–okay, occasional searching–Mr. …
End of an era. This week, the City of Raleigh Fire Department’s beloved Snorkel was retired. Effective April 1, 2020. The 1988 Pierce Arrow, with an 85-foot boom and no pump, had served as a reserve apparatus for over a decade. It was currently designated Ladder 210. Most recently and famous, it operated at one …
Long before COVID crashed our shores, our fire departments and rescue squads assisted with another national health crisis. During the polio outbreaks of the 1940s and 1950s, they added iron lungs to their emergency equipment. Here’s the Durham Fire Department receiving one, as photographed by Charles Cooper for the Durham Morning Herald and/or Sun on …