Update – The fire was declared 100% contained as of December 1. The fire burned 7,142 acres. The cause remains under investigation. On Friday, November 11, 2016, fire departments around North Carolina were requested to help fight a wildfire in the western part of the state. A blaze had started six days earlier at Chimney …
Continue reading ‘Party Rock Fire – Massive Mutual Aid – Photos, Notes, and More’ »
On July 28, 1965, the Steer Steak House at 1625 Louisburg Road burned. Or as the road was later named, North Boulevard, and even later named, Capital Boulevard. Fire was reported at 3:55 a.m. by a passing motorist. Crews battled the blaze in a heavy rainstorm. The one-story structure (plus basement) suffered extensive damage and …
Continue reading ‘The Steer Steak House, Johnny’s Motor Lodge, and the Capital Inn’ »
On Thursday, October 13, 2016, a Wake County engine company strike team was dispatched to Bladen County, to assist with flood relief efforts and emergency responses in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. Apex, Bay Leaf, Eastern Wake, Fairview, Knightdale, Stony Hill, and Wake Forest each sent a single engine plus members. Notes this News & …
Continue reading ‘Matthew Memories – Wake County Engine Company Strike Team’ »
On Tuesday night, October 13, 1964, a restaurant building at the fairgrounds was destroyed during a busy night at the North Carolina State Fair. Thousands were attending the fair, and watched with rapt attention as “portable” restaurant was consumed by flames. The $100,000 structure was a loss, and the blaze likely inspired the creation of …
Continue reading ‘Restaurant Burns During Busy Night at NC State Fair, October 1964’ »
How’s that for a dramatic headline? Dateline Durham on Monday about 4:15 p.m., where Capt. Andrew Johnson had been sitting on a bed at Fire Station 14 on Umstead Road. Thirty seconds later, a car crashed through the wall and struck the very spot where’d been sitting, reported the Herald-Sun. Herald-Sun photo The four-door sedan …
Continue reading ‘Car Strikes Durham Fire Station, Fire Captain Narrowly Escapes Injury or Worse’ »
Contents Part I – Hurricane Matthew Part II – Old Stage Road Part III – Rose Lane Part IV – Numbers Part V – Wake County Water Rescues Part VI – Sources Part I – Hurricane Matthew On Saturday, October 8, heavy rain and winds pelted Raleigh and Wake County as Hurricane Matthew passed along …
Continue reading ‘Matthew in Raleigh – Firefighters, Water Rescues, and Rescued Rescuers’ »
Let’s start a list of the swift-water rescue teams operating in North Carolina since Saturday and the arrival of Hurricane Matthew: Apex FDARR-MAC (Arrington FD, Mar-Mac FD)Asheville FD (as TF2)Cary FDCarolina Beach FD Chapel Hill FD (+ as TF8)Charlotte FD (as TF3 and NCHART)Clayton FDCumberland County SO (as TF?)Davie CountyFayetteville FD (as TF9)FEMA Task Force …
Continue reading ‘Water Rescue Teams Operating in North Carolina After Hurricane Matthew’ »
This afternoon, Thursday, October 6, North Carolina Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) Task Force 8 deployed a Type II Water Rescue team to New Bern, NC, to be on standby for Hurricane Matthew. The fourteen members and their four vehicles departed from the Raleigh Fire Department Keeter Training Center at 1:15 p.m. They deployed a …
Continue reading ‘NC USAR Task Force 8 Deploys to New Bern From Raleigh’ »
See photos by Mike Legeros Here’s a run card and narrative about yesterday’s reported shooting at Crabtree Valley Mall. Gunshots were reported on the second floor, near the food court, just after 2:30 p.m. The mall was placed on lockdown, and then evacuated as law officers secured each location. The mall occupants (employees, shoppers) were …
Continue reading ‘Run Card For Reported Shooting at Crabtree Valley Mall’ »
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 …
Continue reading ‘Fire on the Mall! Thirty-Fives Years After the Mangel’s Building – July 7, 1981’ »