Durham City/County Fire Merger

July 1, 2018 Durham Fire Department, Expanded, In Service! See also this history chart. Cool things happened at 7:00 a.m. today. The city of Durham Fire Department activated two new stations (Page Road, Seaton Road), and a mess of new units and companies. Some are housed at temporary quarters, as Station 17 on Leesville Road …

Continue reading ‘Durham City/County Fire Merger’ »

Long Beach, Yaupon Beach, Oak Island, Southport – History Notes

Last updated 7:00 a.m., July 25 This posting is undergoing updates, with clarifications on the coming current changes, and as additional historical perspectives are added. News out of Brunswick County. Yaupon Beach Fire Department is dissolving, and transferring their assets to Southport Fire Department. Members of YBFD are also joining SFD. [ Previously reported as a …

Continue reading ‘Long Beach, Yaupon Beach, Oak Island, Southport – History Notes’ »

Fraternity Fires in Chapel Hill – 1909 to 2001

This posting was originally posted on Facebook, on the Chapel Hill Fire Department Retirees & History page. Every part of a community is invariably impacted by fire. And as the clock is turned back, toward simpler times with fewer priorities on life safety and fire prevention, the numbers of destructive blazes invariably rise. Here’s a list …

Continue reading ‘Fraternity Fires in Chapel Hill – 1909 to 2001’ »

Chapel Hill Town Minutes – 1896 to 1922

Presenting a deep-dive into Chapel Hill FD history, via a transcription of town minutes excerpts [both exact and paraphrased]**, originally recorded in typewritten form. Date of original unknown. Likely compiling all references to fires and fire protection, from the first decades of the town’s governance. Photographed from a copy in the CHFD archives, with optical character …

Continue reading ‘Chapel Hill Town Minutes – 1896 to 1922’ »

Remembering the Raleigh Riots, April 1968

This month marks a grim anniversary–fifty years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. He was shot at a motel in Memphis and pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m. EST.  Riots soon erupted across the state* and nation**. It was the greatest wave of social unrest in the United States …

Continue reading ‘Remembering the Raleigh Riots, April 1968’ »

Fatal Fires in Raleigh – 1948 to 2018

Presenting the results of a recent research project: Fatal Fires in Raleigh, 1948-2018. Starting in 1948, and the deadliest fire in the city’s history. Five family members died after their apartment burned above the Carolina Country Club clubhouse in February 1948. Over 150 deaths, from incidents as limited by (a.) inside the city limits, or (b.) …

Continue reading ‘Fatal Fires in Raleigh – 1948 to 2018’ »

Raleigh Adds Squads, Fifth Battalion, and More – February 5, 2012

This is a re-posting of a Legeros Blog Archives posting from February 5, 2012, that’s no longer available on the old site, due to technical problems. Big changes today in the Capital City, effective 0800 hours. Here’s take one of a summary of the rescue reconfiguration, the new battalion, the unit renumbering, and more. We’ll …

Continue reading ‘Raleigh Adds Squads, Fifth Battalion, and More – February 5, 2012’ »

Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014

This is a blog archives posting from February 5, 2014, and re-posted here as the original is unavailable due to technical issues. February 5 Reports this Herald-Sun story[1], Durham County Commissioners will vote next week to endorse (or not) the recommendations of the recently receive fire protection study. On Monday, the Interim County Manager provided a …

Continue reading ‘Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014’ »

North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Ceremony – May 6, 2017

This Saturday, May 6, 2017, the annual North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service will be conducted at Nash Square in downtown Raleigh. The event starts at 1:00 p.m. and will be preceded with a parade at 10:00 a.m., featuring honor guards, pipes and drums, and fire apparatus from across the state, from departments with one …

Continue reading ‘North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Ceremony – May 6, 2017’ »