Fire on the Mall! Thirty-Fives Years After the Mangel’s Building – July 7, 1981

Posted by Mike Legeros on 31 July 2016, 9:28 am

Thirty-five years ago this month, on July 7, 1981, the Mangel’s Building on the Fayetteville Street Mall burned. The four-alarm fire was one of the largest in the city’s history. Hundreds watched as thick smoke blanketed the pedestrian mall, and as firefighters fought a difficult fire in an 80+ year-old building that was “built to …

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Vintage Photo & Advertisement – Scotland Neck’s Oren Pumper

Posted by Mike Legeros on 30 July 2016, 11:49 pm

Found for sale on eBay, magazine advertisement from 1943 for Oren Fire Apparatus in Roanoke, VA, showing Scotland Neck’s Engine No. 1. Maybe readers can share some history of the rig. Click to slightly enlarge:

Vintage Photo of Vance Apartments and Fire Trucks, 1972

Posted by Mike Legeros on 25 July 2016, 6:43 pm

The Raleigh Public Record posted a story today [link expired:http://raleighpublicrecord.org/news/development-beat/2016/07/25/development-beat-miscellaneous-monday-2/] about a parking lot at the northeast corner of Edenton and Wilmington streetst that’s slated for development. The site was once occupied by Vance Apartments, a three-story, 36-unit complex that was the largest of Raleigh’s then-four apartment buildings. But no one has photo for the building, …

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Vintage Photo of Wake New Hope Fire Car, 1975

Posted by Mike Legeros on 22 July 2016, 8:18 pm

For your Friday flashback, here’s a News & Observer photo from October 23, 1975, showing a Wake New Hope Fire Department “fire car” at the Plantation Inn on Capital Boulevard. And a station wagon no less! (Make and model, readers?) There was a fire in an attic that was discovered about 11:00 a.m. and quickly …

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Revealed – Mystery Vehicles!

Posted by Mike Legeros on 10 July 2016, 10:30 am

July 10 Answers are… Charlotte Decon 1, GMC step van – October 1996 Durham rescue, red car, and small truck – March 1986 Greensboro white car, 1979 Chevy Malibu – July 1985 Fort Bragg Engine 11 – June 1988 Guilford College Chemical 39 – October 1987 Raleigh Engine 3, 1986 EEI/Pemfab – 1987 Click to …

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Kinston Public Safety Splits Into Fire, Police Departments

Posted by Mike Legeros on 10 July 2016, 10:16 am

Belated news from Lenoir County. On July 1, the Kinston Department of Public Safety was split into separate fire and police departments. Local news–Kinston Free Press, WITN–have been covering same. The departments merged in 2004, when a special response unit was created of fourteen cross-trained police officers and firefighters. The split originated after the retirement …

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Vintage Photo of Henderson Ford/Howe Engine by Tony Kelly

Posted by Mike Legeros on 3 July 2016, 9:16 am

Found for sale on eBay is this postcard view of Henderson Engine 5, a 1970s (?) Ford/Howe pumper-tanker. The back reads “North Carolina Fire Apparatus post cards, from the collection of Tony D. Kelly. Collection consists of approximately 200 cards such as this one for trade.” And with his address of “Kinston, NC, 28501.” The …

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Guest Post – My Antique Fire Trucks by George Mills

Posted by Mike Legeros on 3 July 2016, 8:45 am

By George Mills, a former Chief of Bay Leaf VFD Last year Mike asked to me write a posting about antique fire trucks. Here’s that article from August 2015, where I wrote about several restored and decaying American LaFrance rigs in North Carolina. This time I’m write about my antiques. Beginning with my first, a …

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