This is a blog version of a Facebook posting.

Congratulations to Garner Fire Department and Rolesville Fire Department. Effective July 1, 2025, each merged with their respective municipalities, Town of Garner, NC Government and Town of Rolesville, NC. Congrats to all.

They’re two of oldest community fire departments in Wake County. Garner FD was organized in 1952, with a small group of volunteers, a 1941 Ford auxiliary truck from Durham (and later sold to Harrells in Sampson County), and a used-car garage as their first station.

Rolesville Rural FD was organized in 1958, with their own volunteers and a 1958 Chevy/American pumper (still on the roster) and a military surplus truck-turned-tanker. They stored their pumper in the Rolesville Amoco Station.

The Garner merger was several years in the making, with milestones including the town contracting with a consultant in January 2021 to study the issue, the town passing a resolution proposing unification in May 2024, and the town approving the final merger agreement in March 2025. 

The Rolesville merger dates to 2021, when the fire department and the town started meeting collaboratively on the subject. In May 2024, the town adopted a unification resolution. Read more about the Rolesville merger. 

Looking Back

Historical photos of Garner FD, via Raleigh Fire Museum.

Historical photos of Rolesville Rural FD, also via RFM.