Archive of posts filed under the Rescue category.

Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Rescue and EMS History

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Presenting researching notes on the history of rescue and ambulance services in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Read research notes (pdf) See Google Drive folder of clippings. Summary Before 1960 1921 – First advertisements appear for ambulance services in newspapers. Operators are car and taxi companies. 1926 – Funeral homes begin adding ambulance services.  1947 – …

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Kernersville Helicopter Rescue and Crash, September 25 1984

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting on March 25, 2025 Recounting the fatal helicopter crash in downtown Kernersville on September 25, 1984, during the attempted rescue/recovery of an injured worker atop a decommissioned water tower. The incident started about 6:10 p.m. after 19 year-old Charles Glenwood Tompkins Jr. as injured while working …

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Siloam Bridge Collapse – February 23, 1975

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Updated: March 25, 2025, with additional clippings and artifacts added to the linked Google Drive. This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from February 2025.  Here’s a short summary about the Siloam Bridge Collapse, that we learned about this week.  This happened on Sunday night, February 23, 1975, in Siloam, NC, on the …

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New Hanover County Ambulance and Rescue Services History

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Presenting research notes on the history of ambulance and rescue services in New Hanover County. View chart – JPG | PDF Read research notes and plus Google Drive of 200+ news articles on this web page. 1950s 1957, Feb – Cape Fear Ambulance Service was under new management, prices reduced, read an advertisement. [SN, 2/17/58] …

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Oldest Rescue Squads in North Carolina + Master List

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Posting updated May 30, 2024, with banner graphic added. Database is also periodically updated with corrections.  Research notes on the oldest rescue squads in North Carolina. Originally compiled in September 2022 in this Facebook posting. Source data in this Google spreadsheet copied from Excel master file. Name County Status Start Stop Winston-Salem Rescue Squad, Inc. …

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Fatal Ambulance Accidents in North Carolina

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Research notes on fatal ambulance accidents in North Carolina. Most involve collisions with other vehicles. Sources include newspapers.com, Digital North Carolina Newspapers, the Fayetteville Observer archives via News Bank, and numerous Google searches.  See source documents in this Google Drive. 2020 to 2024  February 13, 2024 – Cumberland County Cape Fear Valley Medical Center ambulance …

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Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 Crash in Charlotte

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This is an expanded version of a Facebook posting on November 24, 2022, and a blogs archive posting (PDF) from April 8, 2010. Courtesy of the Don Sturkey Photographic Materials (P0070), North Carolina Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill Library, from Fatal Distraction by Philip Gerard in Our State magazine. Contents Introduction Timeline Charlotte Fire Department Narrative Introduction On …

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Raleigh Rescue Boats, Past and Present

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With the remnants of Hurricane Ian reaching Raleigh today, here’s a look at the city’s water rescue vehicles, past and present. Left to right, top to bottom: 1953 wooden rescue boats, originally operated by the Raleigh Emergency Rescue Squad at Station 1. And they’ve survived to this date, presently in storage. Lee Wilson photo, from …

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Raleigh Rescue Squad Member Drowns, 1959

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from February 2021. On Thursday, April 23, 1959, Raleigh Emergency Rescue Squad volunteer member and Wake County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert L. Battle, 45, drowned in the Cape Fear River in Chatham County. He was serving as a squad member and assisting with a search for a …

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Greensboro Rescue History

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Introduction This page presents research notes on the history of rescue squad vehicles in Greensboro and notably as operated by the Greensboro Life Saving squad and the Greensboro Fire Department and originally compiled in 2022.  Ambulance and EMS agency history is presently not included. May expand at a later and add.  Summary  1944 – GFD …

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