Raleigh Fire Department – Digitized Yearbooks from 1984 and 2002

Whoops, this posting was originally planned in November. Let’s catch up… The Raleigh Fire Museum in partnership with the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center in November 2018 announced the digitization of two fire department “yearbooks” from 1984 and 2002. These commemorative volumes are no longer in print, and document the personnel, facilities, equipment, and history of …

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North Carolina Fire Departments in 1896

Here’s a list of North Carolina fire departments in 1896, as reported by the Statistician of the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association, for the year ending April 1, 1896. This reported was printed in the proceedings for the Eighth Annual Convention Tournament, held in Salisbury, NC, on August 19, 20, 21.  The printed document–61 pages, …

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Warsaw Fire Chief Killed on Duty – December 31, 1949

Here’s the front page of the Duplin Times from January 5, 1950, which includes a story on the death of Warsaw Fire Dept Fire Chief Stacy H. Britt, 38, who died in the line of duty in an apparatus collision on December 31, 1949. You can read the entire issue at this digital North Carolina …

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Emergency Landing at Winston-Salem Airport, 1971

From the May-June 1971 issue of Hose & Nozzle magazine. Piedmont Airlines prop plane made an emergency landing at Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem. Jammed landing gear forced a belly landing. Runway foaming was started, but stopped when the pilot reported that the plane had only a few more minutes of fuel. It had circled …

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Pullen Road Extension – Historical Perspective

The long-awaited Pullen Road extension opened yesterday. Here’s a city news release about the $3.8M project that extends Pullen Road to Centennial Campus Parkway, by way of a new roundabout at Bilyeu Street.   But did you know that Avent Ferry Road originally ran through there, and connected with Western Boulevard just east of Pullen Road? Below …

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North Carolina Black Fire Companies in 1905

Here’s a historical treat. Tabular data of the state’s black fire companies in 1905, in Concord, Durham, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Greenville, Henderson, Monroe, Oxford, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Salisbury, Statesville, Tarboro, Warrenton, Washington, Wilson, and Winston-Salem. Click to enlarge: These pages are from digitized conference proceedings of the North Carolina State Volunteer Firemen’s Association. They were …

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Building a Better Rescue

This posting is an expanded version of an article that first appeared in the fall 2018 issue of the Raleigh Fire Department Newsletter. New Rescue, New Quarters The City of Raleigh Fire Department recently placed a new heavy rescue in service, a 2018 Pierce Arrow XT that was custom-designed by department members. The truck was …

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When Gateway Plaza Burned, December 1987

December 2 Log book excerpts added at bottom of posting. November 25 Development is comin’ to the Capital Boulevard corridor inside the Beltline. Or, perhaps, more development. The Gateway Plaza shopping center, built in 1968, is planned for Big Things. Here are a couple news stories on same, from the Triangle Business Journal (2016) and News & …

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