Two Alarms on Walden Pond Drive

See photos by Mike Legeros | Listen to radio traffic Mike Legeros photos Two alarms were struck overnight in north Raleigh on Walden Pond Drive. It was the third of four working fires in the city in eight hours, between Saturday night, February 4, and Sunday morning, February 5, and the first of two extra-alarm …

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Apparatus Accidents with Civilian Fatalities

This is an updated blog version of a Facebook posting from 2009. What’s the historical perspective of civilian fatalities in fire apparatus accidents across our state? Here’s that secret history.  Contents 2023 – Charlotte 2019 – Kannapolis 2011 – Kernersville 2005 – Statesville 1997 – Charlotte 1985 – Greensboro 1982 – Charlotte 1980 – Steele …

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Two Alarms on Logger Court

See more photos by Mike Legeros. Two alarms were struck on Friday night, January 21, 2023, at 1100 Logger Court in north Raleigh. Two-story, garden-style, office condo building with 3,600 square-feet, if calculating correctly. Built 1981, say tax records. Dispatched 10:02 p.m. as a multiple residential structure fire at the intersection of Falls of Neuse …

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Cigarette Carried to Attic By Pigeon and Other Unusual Fire Causes

Updated December 2022 with content from archive blog postings, replacing links to pages no longer available. Back in 2009, we published a series of blog postings, listing vintage fire cause reports from around North Carolina from the late 1940s through the late 1950s, as (a.) reported to the State Insurance Commissioner’s office, (b.) compiled by …

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Run Card for Hedingham Shootings

Posting last updated November 8, 2022, at 7:05 a.m. See more Legeros photos | Read Raleigh Police five-day report (PDF)  | Read historical perspective on mass shootings in Raleigh Here are notes about the fire and EMS response to the active shooter incident in Raleigh on October 13, 2022. Five people were shot and killed, including …

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Two Alarms on Shanda Drive

Mike Legeros photo See more photos Two alarms were struck at 6101 Shanda Drive on Sunday, October 9. Dispatched at 5:01 a.m. as an automatic fire alarm for Engine 15 and Ladder 15. Upgraded to structure fire response, while units were en route. Engine 15 was first-arriving with heavy fire from the rear of three-story, …

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Three Alarms on Water Oak Drive

Three alarms were struck in north Raleigh on Monday, May 11, 2022, at 3900 Water Oak Drive. Three-story, wood-frame apartment building with 12,760 square-feet and 16 units, if reading tax records correctly. Dispatched 8:49 p.m. with Engine 19 first-arriving, with heavy fire in the front of the structure. Second alarm requested within a couple minutes. …

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Two Alarms on Olde Station Drive

Two alarms were struck on Sunday night, March 13, 2022, at 8604 Olde Station Drive in Raleigh. Dispatched 7:13 p.m. Two-story, wood-frame, garden-style apartments, with 16 units and 9,680 square-feet. Built 1990. One person reported trapped in first-floor unit, and people reported jumping off balconies, as units were en route. Working fire dispatch and EMS …

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Two Alarms on New Bern Avenue

Two alarms were struck on Sunday, February 28, at a house fire at 528 New Bern Avenue. Dispatched 6:57 p.m. Two-story, single-family dwelling with 1,422 square-feet. Built 1925, with both attic and basement space. Subject reported inside structure, later found outside building, in rear. Engine 1 first arriving, did not catch a hydrant. Engine 13 …

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Guthery Apartments in Charlotte, 1940

This is a blog version of a Facebook posting. Reader question. Hey Mike, both Philadelphia and NYC have had their deadliest residential fires in decades. What’s the worst residential/multi-family fire in NC history? Answer: Believe it’s the Guthery Apartments in Charlotte on North Tryon Street on March 15, 1940, that killed nine. Recounts the Charlotte …

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