Looking back at the natural gas explosion and flash fire in downtown Wilmington August 5, 1987. Timeline On August 5, 1987, Welco Construction and Utilities Company, based in Florence, SC, was excavating in the 4600 block of Market Street. They were installing sanitary sewer lines in preparation for a project to widen Market Street. The …
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Research notes on medical helicopter crashes and accidents in North Carolina, both fatal and non-fatal. Pictured is the Life Force crash in Macon County in March 2023. The four crew members all survived with minor to moderate injuries. Photo credit TBD. 1980s Duke Life Flight, Duke University Hospital, Durham 7/21/1986 Crashed near NC 751 and …
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LODD rescue history. In 1976, two members of the Goldsboro Rescue Squad died on duty in two separate incidents. On March 28, 1976, James Hickman drowned during a water rescue/recovery. On November 7, 1976, Kenneth Davis died in a vehicle collision. Here are those stories. James Madison Hickman March 28, 1976 – On a Sunday …
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Change Log: Added Paul Boyer, Fort Bragg, who died on 10/22/09. (May 5, 2025) Added Duke Life Flight members who died on 9/8/17. (May 4, 2025) Presenting a list of ambulance driver, rescue squad member, and EMS agency member line of duty deaths, but excludes fire-based EMS agency members (for now). Most of these names …
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See photos from the ceremony. On Saturday, May 10, 2025, the following names were added to the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the annual ceremony in downtown Raleigh. See below for narratives and notes, about each member and how they died. John Alexander Bowen – Fayetteville – 4/16/22 Nathan Clark Burgess – Raleigh – …
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On March 29, 2024, Lexington Fire Department Captain Ronnie B. Metcalf, 54, died after being injured during an interior fire attack at a house fire on March 26. What’s the historical perspective of other firefighters in North Carolina, who were killed during or from injuries sustained during interior operations? That list includes the following: Theodore …
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On Saturday, May 11, 2024, the following names will be added to the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the annual ceremony in downtown Raleigh. See below for narratives and notes, about each member and how they died. Ricky Dale Allen – Conover – 2023 Minton Beach, III – Oak City – 2023 Dewayne Fender …
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On Saturday, May 13, 2023, the following names will be added to the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the annual ceremony in downtown Raleigh. See below for narratives and notes, about each member and how they died. Richard S. Aman – Piney Grove – 2021 Charles Barnett – Asheville – 1891 (not shown) Perry …
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This posted was updated in March 2023 with an important correction, about the correct names of the three firefighters killed. It’s also been expanded with new narratives about the incident and its aftermath, and converted to a linked PDF document. On August 27, 1891, three Asheville firemen were killed and three others were injured when …
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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from August 14, 2020. Tale of a tragedy. Early in the morning of Tuesday, July 14, 1942, a pair of explosion at a bulk fuel storage facility in Waynesville, NC, killed six people, and also fatally injured Fire Chief Lawrence Kerley. Below are a pair of …
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