Vintage Montage – Local Rescue Squads at Carter-Finley, 1986-87

Here’s a montage of Wake County rescue squad ambulances, staged at Carter-Finley Stadium in the fall of 1986 and 1987. Larger versions of each have been posted to the History of EMS in Wake County page on Facebook. Look in the photo albums. Top to bottom, left to right are trucks from Cary, Knightdale, Six …

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Vintage Photos of NCSU Public Safety Vehicles

Here’s your Monday morning treat. Vintage photos of public safety vehicles at North Carolina State University. They were taken by David Raynor in the 1980s. He’s a blog reader, fire buff, and former law officer who lived in Raleigh and Greensboro in his day. We’ve shared some of his vintage pictures before, and will have …

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In Charlotte This Weekend – Concord’s 1887 Ladder Wagon

The Concord Fire Department will display a restored hand-drawn ladder wagon this weekend, at the Pennzoil Charlotte AutoFair at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. As this Independent Tribute story (thanks Josh!) by Erin Kidd reports, the 129-year-old wagon was used by the Concord Hook and Ladder Company in 1887. That was a company of black firefighters …

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Chapel Hill’s New Engine

Factory photo of Chapel Hill’s new Engine 31, 2016 Pierce Arrow XT pumper, 1500/500. See larger versions via Pierce on Flickr. This only the second Pierce for the college town, after a 2012 Pierce Arrow XT, 1500/500, which is Engine 33. Who has built the rest of their fire apparatus over the years and decades. …

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Local Air Force Aircraft Accidents, 1919 to 1954

Have lately been researching local air crashes, and become increasingly curious about military aircraft incidents. (Have found a couple, including a B-17 crash in Garner in 1944.) Let’s get more exhaustive via this database of Air Force Accident Reports from the Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research. They’ve indexed USAAF and USAF reports from 1918 to 1955, …

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Salisbury Renovates, Reactivates Historic Fire Station

The Salisbury Fire Department last year re-activated their historic Old Station 2 at 1402 S. Main Street. The 1942 engine house was renovated and restored by firefighters, after being vacated by the city s Landscaping and Parks and Recreation departments. Let s chat with Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell about the building (now named Station …

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Updated – Former Bay Leaf Midi Pumper Found

[ Updated with more info. on the truck’s history. ] From a reader, this former Bay Leaf midi pumper was found in Erwin, TN. Former Unicio FD Engine 3, 1979 Chevrolet C-70/Pierce, 400/400. E0155. (Thanks Micah, for the specs!) Another reader (via our Facebook page) tells that the truck was bought by Fire Chief D. …

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Looking Closely at the Airport’s 1959 Walter Crash Truck

It’s airport week at Blog Central! Time for some time travel… Raleigh-Durham International Airport has operated four Walter crash trucks in its day, the first being a 1959 Class 1500 that was acquired some time around 1970. Below is the closest we have to a posed photo of the thing. Click to enlarge: News & …

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Seagrave Deliveries in North Carolina – 1906 to 1951

June 23, 2019 Here’s a posting about the entire painter’s log, added to my new digital history library: https://legeros.com/blog/seagrave-paint-log-1906-1951. March 20, 2016 What do the pages of the painter’s log look like? Here’s an example: And here’s a page that mentions Tarboro, North Carolina. Page 119, from 1933. The notation says something like “April 18th, …

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New Org Chart for Wake County Fire Services

Wake County Fire Services has implemented a new organizational chart, with two new Deputy Director positions reporting to the Fire Service Director, a new Logistics Manager position, and a couple other changes. Let s chat with Fire Services Director Nick Campasano for a closer look. The new structure was originally conceived by [prior Fire Services …

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