How about some vintage meeting minute excerpts for your hysterical historical enjoyment? These are from the Raleigh Fire Fighters Association, Local No. 548, as transcribed by Yours Truly. Read many more at http://legeros.com/ralwake/raleigh/history/union/ 1942 – Meeting came to order at 10:30 a.m. followed by prayer by all members. Motion made and carried that men at work …
Presenting the results of a recent research project: Fatal Fires in Raleigh, 1948-2018. Starting in 1948, and the deadliest fire in the city’s history. Five family members died after their apartment burned above the Carolina Country Club clubhouse in February 1948. Over 150 deaths, from incidents as limited by (a.) inside the city limits, or (b.) …
Found in the files of the Raleigh Fire Museum, a News and Observer profile of incoming Raleigh Fire Chief Clarence Puryear. He was named their Tar Heel of the Week in the Sunday, January 14, 1973, issue. Clarence Rudy Puryear Sr., born in 1919 in Virginia, entered the department in February 1941. After military leave …
Continue reading ‘Fire Chief Clarence Puryear – Tar Heel of the Week, 1973’ »
On Monday, October 23, Engine 2 relocated to their newly renovated Raleigh fire station. The 1969 engine house underwent a $1.5 million overhaul that stripped the station down to its exterior walls. It’s the second in a series of planned major renovations that started with Station 5 in 2016. The Pecan Road fire station also …
Continue reading ‘New History Plaque for Renovated Fire Station 2’ »
Posted this over on Raleigh Firefighters United on Facebook a few months ago, after a retiree asked “hey, do you have history on labor-related things?” Compiled this, and posting here for now. Will later revise and/or expand, and add to my history pages: Research Documents The Hubert Altman Affair – Added September 2020 – PDF Historical …
Continue reading ‘Raleigh Fire Labor Actions, Activities – Research Notes’ »
Last week, the City of Raleigh revealed a new logo design, and to a wide range of reactions. Google for those. Back in the day, a pair of Raleigh rigs sported the city’s earlier logo, the city seal. Those were the 1950 Mack and the 1950 FWD, pictured below. How might a modern truck look …
Continue reading ‘The Old City Seal and The New City Logo’ »
The News & Observer this week has a neat story by Josh Shaffer[1] about Raleigh’s old Catholic Orphanage, the cemetery that was once on the grounds, and reconstructing the history of what happened to the graves. [1] Link to Internet Archive article: https://web.archive.org/web/20171108025700/http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/josh-shaffer/article183205001.html The article also references the Sunday, October 29, 1905 fire at a dormitory that …
Continue reading ‘Fire at the Catholic Orphanage – October 29, 1905’ »
November 9 update. Added a couple more details to the narrative, including corrected street address and notes about the programming that was interrupted only for an Internet live stream. Friday night saw an unusual incident in Raleigh, a working fire at a broadcast studio building. At 7:43 p.m., Engine 8 and Ladder 7 were dispatched …
The Beaufort Fire Department in Carteret County, my high school stomping grounds, has received a tiller! From Montgomery County, MD Future Hook and Ladder 54, a 1997 Seagrave Marauder (?), 100-foot. Delivered on October 13. Operated by Hillandale VFD in Montgomery County, MD. Former Truck 7-12, then a reserve for HVFD. Donated by local resident, …
Let’s look at some uses of the word “service” in the fire service, starting with “Service Company.” That’s a descriptor from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), used in their Fire Suppression Rating Schedule. Service companies operate service trucks (see below) and ISO awards points for specific equipment carried therein. See this page[1] of information. [1] …
Continue reading ‘About Words: Service, Service Trucks, Service Companies’ »