From their Facebook page, here’s a vintage photo of the Foscoe Fire Department in Watagua County. They were organized in 1971 and their first fire station was this one-story block ‘n’ brick building at 8599 Highway 105 South. Twenty years later, they moved to a new fire station at 9230 Highway 105 South. In recent …
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Vintage Wilmington fire apparatus as photographed in September 1997. Wait, when did trucks from the 1980s start qualifying as vintage?!? Courtesy of David Raynor, a blog reader, fire buff, and former law officer who lived in Raleigh and Greensboro in his day. Pictured left to right, top to bottom: 1987 Ford/Grumman pumper, 1000/500 1985 Ford/Quality …
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Found for sale on eBay, vintage dealer photos of Howe fire apparatus from what looks like the 1970s. The Garner Fire Department had a pair of these International/Howe pumpers, one 1974 model and one 1976 model. Same size pump and tank on each. Readers may have more information on these trucks. Click to enlarge:
For your Monday evening enjoyment, here’s another vintage photo from David Raynor, this one of a Raleigh service ladder truck, operating at a fire at St. Mary’s and Hargett streets in 1987. That’s Truck 15, a 1964 GMC that was shop-built using the ladder rack from Raleigh’s first service truck, a 1922 American LaFrance. It …
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On Saturday and the same day that the state’s fallen firefighters were honored in a ceremony at Nash Square in downtown Raleigh, another member of the North Carolina fire service died in the line of duty. Kenly Firefighter John M. Davis Jr., 45, suffered a heart attack while working at the scene of an overturned …
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In September 1969, a new fire engine was delivered at Raleigh-Durham Airport. The Ansul 480 “aircraft crash rescue vehicle” was built on a 1969 International Harvster Loadstar chassis by Southeastern Safety Appliance Company in Charlotte. The Airport Authority authorized its purchase on August 5 of that year. It cost $32,250.50. The truck was equipped with …
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Arrangements were announced today [link expired] for Pineville Firefighter Richard Sheltra, who died in the line of duty at a strip mall fire in Charlotte on Saturday. Sheltra is the seventeenth line-of-duty death in (or from ) Mecklenburg County. The first were recorded in 1914, when Charlotte Fire Chief J. Harvey Wallace and Captain William …
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On Thursday morning, a new crash truck was delivered to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The 2016 Oshkosh Striker 3000, 2000/3200/420/450#/460# plus Snozzle is the first new ARFF rig since 2000, and the first lime apparatus in a quarter century. The truck was purchased with 85% of funding from federal and state sources, thus the safety yellow …
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In days of old, when crews were bold, and motor trucks hadn’t been invented, hydrant pressure was used to fight fire. Simply supply hose and nozzles–and a water system with hydrants–and your fire department was equipped. Reels of hose pulled by hand were common, and notably in small towns. (Though they were used in cities …
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On Saturday, May 7, 2016, the annual memorial service for North Carolina’s fallen firefighters will be held at Nash Square in downtown Raleigh. More about that event in an upcoming blog post. ‘Tis also the season for Mr. Blogger to update his records, notably his fallen firefighter database. Rediscovered a nifty research resource on that …
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