This posting was originally posted on Facebook, on the Chapel Hill Fire Department Retirees & History page. Every part of a community is invariably impacted by fire. And as the clock is turned back, toward simpler times with fewer priorities on life safety and fire prevention, the numbers of destructive blazes invariably rise. Here’s a list …
Continue reading ‘Fraternity Fires in Chapel Hill – 1909 to 2001’ »
“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’ »
Mack CF pumpers were popular trucks in these parts. Chapel Hill had a 1980 model… that was almost a Seagrave. Here’s that story. After soliciting bids for a new pumping engine that year, the town awarded the contract to Seagrave for $112,832.35. The other bidders were Central Mack Sales in Raleigh, Howe Fire Apparatus, Jack Cocke …
Continue reading ‘Chapel Hill’s 1980 Mack… Was Almost a Seagrave’ »
Wait, what? See these town minutes* from February 16, 1963. As it turns out, Chapel Hill’s 1962** American LaFrance pumper was a gently used model, that had been serving at the “Greenville airbase” for about three months, while the airport awaited delivery of a crash truck. Bought for $20,500, versus what would cost $26,000 new. As was customary …
Continue reading ‘Chapel Hill Buys Ex-Airport Pumper, 1963’ »
Update April 11, 2019 – Though initially suspected as caused by a natural gas explosion, it was later eliminated by investigators. Instead, they suspect a backdraft caused the explosion. See the detailed OSFM retrospective below. Updated this posting headline, changing “gas explosion” to “explosion” to reflect that important clarification. This retrospective first appeared on FireNews.net …
Continue reading ‘Four Shelby Firefighters Killed in Explosion, May 25, 1979’ »
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’ »
Here’s some amusing fire history, from a friend, from the Asheville Citizen, February 10, 1907. Read closely. Click to enlarge:
The Raleigh Fire Museum has partnered with DigitalNC to present scrapbooks as created by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Raleigh Fire Fighters Association. The books were photographed and indexed last month at Wilson Library at UNC. They’re now available for digital viewing. The auxiliary was formed in 1952, by wives of Raleigh firefighters. They created …
Continue reading ‘Ladies Auxiliary Scrapbooks… Digitized!’ »
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 …
Continue reading ‘Vintage Photo of Wilkinson Boulevard Ambulance, 1976’ »
From the July-August 1973 issue of Hose and Nozzle. Memo to self, update my blog history of Durham city/county rescue services.