From South Carolina, memorandum of changes to Horry County fire stations and fire apparatus numbers, dated April 22, 1986. Original images at bottom. Here’s a transcription from ChatGPT:
April 22, 1986
MEMORANDUM
TO: All Personnel
FROM: Hampton Shuping, Jr., Fire Chief/Coordinator
RE: Change in Station Numbering System
Effective Monday, May 5, 1986, at 0800 the new station numbering system will go into effect. All stations currently in operation will have their numbers changed, with the exception of Socastee, and new stations will be assigned a number. The primary reason for the changes is to align the station numbers with the radio/pager encoding system. This should help simplify the dispatching process for the dispatchers. The station’s numbers will be as follows:
Station 1 – Socastee
Station 2 – Little River
Station 3 – Bucksport
Station 4 – Forestbrook
Station 5 – Wampee
Station 6 – Mt. Olive
Station 7 – Lake Arrowhead
Station 8 – Juniper Bay
Station 9 – Aynor
Station 10 – Ketchuptown
Station 11 – To be assigned to another station later.
Station 12 – Nixonville
Station 13 – Longs
Station 14 – Shell
Station 15 – Bayboro
At this time none of the six new stations are in service. It was originally hoped to have Station 10 (Ketchuptown) and Station 14 (Shell) in operation on May 1, 1986; however, the current speed of construction of these stations has made it necessary to target later dates. We are now looking to the second or third week in May to open these two stations. As these stations, and any others, go into operation the entire department will be notified.
Also affected by the change in the station numbering system is the way the apparatus will be numbered. It will stay essentially the same system that is used now. The first part of the apparatus number will designate the station the unit is assigned to, and the last number will identify the individual unit. There will be an added identification to the last digit in that it will also identify the type of apparatus.
If the last digit is a 1, 2, or 3 then that unit is an engine. A four (4) will identify a truck (ladder truck), and a five (5) will be a tanker. A brush unit will be a six (6). Any specialty units (such as Little River’s foam unit) will carry a seven (7). We will also begin to use proper fire service designations for what type of unit a piece of apparatus is – specifically, an engine is an engine (not a truck), a truck is one of our aerial ladder trucks, a tanker is a tanker, etc.
Using this type of designation is more important than one might think, particularly in a multiple station or a mutual aid response. It will also help us to be more professional in the use of our radio system.
In order to avoid confusion about the apparatus numbering system the new numbers are listed below:
Station One
Engine 11 – Primary pumper assigned to Socastee
Truck 14 – Formerly truck 1. The aerial ladder truck
Brush 16 – Brush unit at Socastee
Station Two
Engine 21 – The American La France assigned to Little River – Formerly Engine 31
Engine 22 – The Mack – Formerly engine 33
Foam 27 – The pumper converted to a foam unit- old 34
Station Three
Engine 31 – The primary pumper assigned to Bucksport
Tanker 35 – The tanker at Bucksport
Station Four
Engine 41 – The primary pumper assigned to Forestbrook
Brush 46 – Brush unit at Forestbrook
Station Five
Engine 51 – The primary pumper assigned to Wampee
Station Six
Engine 61 – The primary pumper assigned to Mt. Olive
Tanker 65 – The tanker at Mt. Olive
Brush 66 – Brush unit assigned to Mt. Olive
Station Seven
Engine 71 – The primary pumper assigned to Lake Arrowhead
Truck 74 – Formerly truck 2, the aerial ladder truck
Station Eight
Engine 81 – Primary engine assigned to Juniper Bay
Station Nine
Engine 91 – Old engine 51 (the front mount)
Engine 92 – The new pumper assigned to Aynor
Tanker 95 – The tanker at Aynor
Station Ten
Engine 101 – Primary pumper assigned to Ketchuptown
Station Twelve
Engine 121 – Primary pumper assigned to Nixonville
Station Thirteen
Engine 131 – Primary pumper assigned to Longs
Station Fourteen
Engine 141 – Primary pumper assigned to Shell
Station Fifteen
Engine 151 – Primary pumper assigned to Bayboro
NOTE: At this time the disposition and assignment of reserve engines has not been determined. When they are assigned to a station, the appropriate number will be assigned if they are used in an emergency response by station personnel.
District Chiefs will still carry their “FD” designation. For example, the District Chief for Station Two will be FD-2, the District Chief for Station Ten will be FD-10, etc.
Individuals now using their own radios with an alphabetic call sign can continue to do so. The letter of the alphabet will correspond with their new station number (with the exception of Socastee, which will remain the same).
1-A 6-F 10-J
2-B 7-G 12-L
3-C 8-H 13-M
4-D 9-I 14-N
5-E 15-O
If there are any questions contact me.
