On July 1, 2018, Durham County Fire Rescue will consolidate with the Durham Fire Department. County personnel will transfer to the city, along with a number of apparatus and vehicles. And two county fire stations will become city stations. Below is a visual story of the merger. Includes both the pre-history of Bethesda and Parkwood, …
Continue reading ‘Durham City/County Fire Merger… Visualized!’ »
Raleigh received a pair of new mini-pumpers in February, a pair of 2017 Ford F-550/Knapheide/UPF/Foam Pro 250/250/10 units. Shown on left. They replaced a pair of 1986 Chevy brush trucks, which were retired. Shown on right. Along with a 2005 Ford F-550/Reading/Slagle, the city’s three mini-pumpers are assigned to and cross-staffed by Squad 7, Squad …
Continue reading ‘Dispositions of Raleigh’s Retired Mini-Pumpers’ »
With the coming closure of Apex EMS on June 30, 2018, here’s an updated version of my Wake County EMS System family tree. Includes numerous nips ‘n’ tucks as well, and a couple added notes about recent milestones. Visualizes the origins of local ambulance and rescue services, from the original funeral home providers, to the …
Continue reading ‘Wake County EMS System Family Tree – Updated’ »
Blog version of a Facebook posting. Last updated October 12, 2026. Presenting research notes on Oak Island and nearby fire departments, originally created as an announcement of the ending of the Yaupon Beach Fire Department in Brunswick County. Effective July 1, 2018, the town of Caswell Beach was contracted with the town of Southport for …
Continue reading ‘Long Beach, Yaupon Beach, Oak Island, Southport – History Notes’ »
Learned a good lesson the other day. I’ve long-used shorthand, for noting the concept of “one year or the next year.” For example, writing “the fire truck was a 1950 or 1951 Ford” as “the fire truck was a 1950-51 Ford.” No problem, right? But watch what happens here: 1950 – The fire department was organized. 1951 …
For your Saturday reading pleasure, a vintage document from Monroe, NC. Constitution and by-laws of Monroe Fire Company No. 1. Undated, probably from early 1900s. Scanned from physical copy at Wilson Library at UNC, part of the North Carolina Collection. Call number Cp971.90 M75m1 Read the document (PDF, 2 MB)
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’ »