Fire Museum Moves to Blowing Rock, 1959

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This posting is occasionally updated with new information. Last updated February 4, 2026.

Note: See also these two active Facebook threads: Legeros Fire Line and SPAAMFAA (private group)

Watauga Democrat, May 28, 1959.

In May 1959, the fire equipment and fire apparatus collection of Vincent K. O’Meara of Hialeah, FL, was moved to the Tweetsie Railroad attraction in Blowing Rock, NC. The collection had previously been displayed at his Hialeah Fire Museum at 1022 E. 27th Street. 

The extensive collection of artifacts also included 30 pieces of apparatus, with the oldest dating to 1792. O’Meara’s collection also included thousand of pieces of related fire equipment and what the local newspaper called the largest “fire protection library” in the southeast. 

Among the displayed apparatus was Greensboro’s 1904 American LaFrance steam engine, reg #496. Originally acquired by a private owner in Winston-Salem, it was sold to Vincent K. O’Meara of Hialeah, FL, in August of 1951. See prior posting about the steamer.


Miami News, May 18, 1959

About the Apparatus Continue reading ‘Fire Museum Moves to Blowing Rock, 1959’ »

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Elizabeth City Fire Department Early History

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This posting presents ongoing research notes about the early history of the Elizabeth City Fire Department.

See source articles.  

1820s to 1870s

1827 – Phoenix Fire Company in operation, meeting notice in newspaper. [ECS/NCEI, 3/17/27]

1835 – Phoenix FC monthly meeting notice in newspaper. Notes that their charter, created five years ago, has expired and a new company must be re-organized. [HOTT, 1/27/35]

1850 – Fire company has recently procured hose for their engine, and now seek a reel to wind the hose. [ONS, 4/12/51]

1850, Oct – Meeting at courthouse to form a fire company. [ONS, 10/5/50]

1850, Oct – Meeting was held at courthouse on Wednesday and the Albemarle Engine Company was formed, with President L. D. Starke, Vice President Dr. R. K. Speed, Secretary W. J. Kellinger, Treasurer J. M. Matthews, Chief Engineer W. H. Clark, and Asst. Engineer A. W. Stark elected. [DP, 10/29/50] 

1857 – Newspaper editorial laments insufficient protection from fire, including “an efficient engine” that is “wanting.” [DP, 3/10/57]

1858, Mar 30 – Town officials take steps toward buying new engine and hose, and forming two fire [engine] companies and one hook and ladder company. [DP, 3/30/58]

1858, May – Editorial, happy that town officials have “at last determined to purchase two fire engines.” [DP, 5/17/59]

1859, May – Mr. W. H. Clark has purchased two “handsome” fire engines and some five hundred yards of hose, will be delivered in a few days. [DP, 5/24/59]

1859, June – New fire engines delivered Tuesday before June 7, 1859. They were tested the next day. They are named Fashion and United. [DP, 6/7/59]

1859, June – Meeting notice for United Fire Company. [DP, 6/28/59]

1873 – Citation for year Albemarle FC was organized, as cited in 1915 newspaper. [Advance, 6/25/15]

1880s and 1890s Continue reading ‘Elizabeth City Fire Department Early History’ »

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Winston Salem’s Fire Police and Public Safety Officers

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Research notes on Winston-Salem’s fire police program (1957-1973) and public safety officer program (1973-1987)

See source materials via Google Drive

Fire Police

1956, Jul – City Manager sent 10-page memo to Board of Alderman, with detailed reasons to try a fire-police “safety patrol” on a “limited, experimental basis.” [WSJ, 7/10/56]

1957, Jan 30 – City Manager recommended establishing a “combined fire-and-police patrol” at the new Station 8. Recommendation to be considered by city alderman’s Public Safety Committee. [WSS, 1/30/57]

1957, Apr – Nine volunteers from the fire department began first phase of training as “fire-police patrolmen.” They started classes at 8:00 a.m. at the “Police Pistol Club” and the training lasted four weeks. Subjects included “City ordinances, North Carolina laws, methods of arrest, self protection, arms instruction, police courtesy, and court testimony procedure.” After their training, they will have a month of on-the-job training as police officers. [WSJ, 4/11/57]

1957, May – Names of personnel assigned to new Station 8 and those assigned to fire-police patrol were announced. [WSS, 5/16/57]

1957, Sep 2 – Fire-police patrol placed in service with a 1957 Chevrolet station wagon. Housed at Station 7 until its permanent quarters at Station 8 were completed. [WSJ, 10/13/57]

1957, Oct 13 – Fire police patrol had been operating for a month, and logged more than 1,000 hours of “watchful scouting.” The unit was moving into new Station 8 that week. [WSJ, 10/13/57]

1957, Oct 30 – Fire police car involved in collision with a second vehicle, while chasing a speeder on Reynolda Road at 10:30 p.m. No injures. The speeder “got away.” There was slight damage to the patrol car. [WSJ, 10/31/57]

Continue reading ‘Winston Salem’s Fire Police and Public Safety Officers’ »

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Forsyth County Fire Department History

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This posting was last updated in July 2024, with added history of county rural fire protection before 1951.

Introduction

This posting originated as a Facebook posting in August 2020.

Before 1951 – Part 1

In June 1945, county commissioners appointed George Sheek as Forsyth County Fire Chief. He was notably placed in charge of a rural fire protection program that had installed 17 wheeled chemical engines on the grounds of county schools. < Another was later added at the county farm.

Though housed on county property, the chemical engines were intended for use by rural residents and school employees alike. Each carried 40-gallons of dry chemical plus 100 feet of each. Each weighed 1,110 pounds and could be pulled by a car as fast as 60 miles an hour [!].

By January 1949, Sheek reported that the chemical engines had saved $300,000 worth of insured property over the years. However, in many cases, rural residents had not used the units. He was also aware of the “failure of communication” about the program and despite such attempts at holding community meetings. (“In some places, not a single person turned up.”)

He was also skeptical of the ability to create a “motorized county fire department,” due to (a.) poor roads, (b.) poor telephone system, and (c.) lack of a water supply. Those barriers were soon overcome, however, when Forsyth County FD was created in 1951, as well as the first community fire departments during that time.

The chemical engine initiative spurred some communities to augment the program, such as the Waltertown Lions Club, which bought a second unit. What happened to all those chemical engines and their wee “engine houses” at the schools? To be determined!

Before 1951 – Part 2

Smith Reynolds Airport received new Army Air Force fire and crash truck. Was stationed permanently at the airport and overseen by Fire Chief Sharon Aungst of the First Army Air Force Servicing Department. Was equipped with Foamite, carbon dioxide, and carbon tetrachloride extinguishers, plus 300 feet of hose to be used with water. Plus “various kinds of knives and axes” to access a crashed plane, as well as a “special kind of hook” used to “turn a burning plane” so flames “will not sweep toward” a trapped pilot. [WSJ, 3/9/43]

1951 Continue reading ‘Forsyth County Fire Department History’ »

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Wake County Fire Commission Meeting – July 11, 2024

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The Wake County Fire Commission met on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., at the Wake County Emergency Services Education Center, 221 S. Rogers Lane, Raleigh, NC 27610.

View agenda and meeting documents.

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Two Alarms on Donald Ross Drive

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Two alarms were struck in east Raleigh on Tuesday morning, July 16, 2024, at 409 Donald Ross Drive, at the site of a building that burned on Monday evening. One-story residential structure converted to storage building, adjoining two-story apartment building.

Dispatched 5:16 a.m. Engine 12 first-arriving with heavy fire showing from the burned building, with extension to adjoining structure. Engine 3 caught water supply at Haven Road. Squad 7 (on reserve) boosting hydrant. Second alarm requested within minutes of arrival. Heavy fire in attic space.

Ladder 12 deployed, with aerial stream flowing. Engine 12 with hand lines and supplying Ladder 12. Portable monitor deployed in rear of structure, from Engine 11 on Donovan Place. Second hydrant caught from farther south on Donald Ross Drive. Staging for fire on Poole Road at Donald Ross. EMS staging on Donald Ross south of Warren Avenue.

Second-alarm response included Rehab 12, a recently added special unit. Controlled 6:06 a.m.


Mike Legeros photos

Run Card

0516 – 1st alarm – E12 E3 E11 L12 L1 Sq7 R16 B2 B5 ISO14
0520 – Working fire – A10 B3 DC1 INV1
0522 – 2nd alarm – E10 E13 E1 L6 L20
0526 – E6 to Sta 1
0527 – L23 to Sta 1

Plus – Rehab 12, Chief Fire Investigator, Logistics Chief, Fire Marshal

Medical – EMS10 EMS13 EMS71 EMS12 EMS83 EMS84 D1 D6

Earlier Fire

Dispatched about 5:46 p.m. Squad 7 (on reserve) first-arriving. Fire in a one-story residential structure converted to storage building, adjoining two-story apartment building. Crews made an interior attack from both front and rear of structure, plus roof operations for ventilation. Special call for two additional engines. Hydrant just south of structure not working, second hydrant caught farther south toward Poole Road, with Ladder 6 crew using Engine 12 to lay the supply line. Controlled in about 25 minutes. Extreme heat warning day. Two firefighters were transported to the hospital for heat-related injuries, from news reports. Extensive overhaul kept crews on scene for a number of hours. Run card included E10 E12 Sq7 E3 E5 E11 E21 L1 L12 L6 R16 B3 B5 ISO14 DC1 A28 D6 EMS__.

 


Mike Legeros photos

 

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History Bits About Salem’s Old Town Hall and Fire Station

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Morning history. This week we’re digging into the history of Winston-Salem’s engine houses, both older and newer. Found some neat notes about the old Station 2 at 301 S. Liberty Street, which everyone knows as the old Salem Town Hall. It became a Winston-Salem fire station when the cities merged in 1913.

Learned that the building’s cornerstone says 1909, but is incorrect and was added by a stonecutter who guessed at the thing [!]. The correct date of 1912 is listed in official documents, such as the minutes of the Moravian church, the organization that found the settlement of Salem. That explains sundry citations, over the decades, of 1909 as the build date.

Also learned that the building first-served as WSFD Station 4, as cited in both Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and city directories. WSFD Station 2 was located at the old Winston City Hall building. See a prior post about that. WSFD Station 4 was renamed Station 2 in 1919, or so says a Sentinel article from January 1979. City directories from that period corroborate that date. Pretty interesting.

^ One of the original bay doors is also labeled “Rough & Ready Fire Co. No. 4”. At the time of the station’s closure in 1976, the bay doors were larger and squared. They read “Fire Department – Central Station No. 2.” The bay doorways were later restored or rebuilt as smaller and arched. Guessing that was the appearance of those doors when the building was completed.

More Information

Legeros pics of the building from 2005. Need to make a return visit. 

Research notes on historic and former WSFD stations, to be updated with new findings.

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Early Engine Houses of Winston and Salem

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Presenting a map and infographic about early engine houses in Winston and Salem.

View as JPG | PDF

View selected source materials via Google Drive.

Learn more about Winston-Salem fire history by Legeros.

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Bob Biggs, Mike Murray, and Restoring Fire Apparatus

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In February 2014, Raleigh Fire Captain Nick Murray recounted the following stories of his father, retired Raleigh Fire Captain Mike Murray and longtime Raleigh Fire Department friend Col. Bob Biggs, retired USAF, and their work restoring numerous antique fire trucks, including Raleigh’s 1926 American LaFrance pumper. Here’s the original blog archives posting:

Jay Leno and Chapel Hill’s 1921 American LaFrance Video

Original Blog Post

Found this the other day, a video from Jay Leno’s Garage featuring Chapel Hill’s 1921 American LaFrance triple combination. Registration #3600, ship order #57359, and ship date September 24, 1921, says John Peckham’s database via SPAAMFA.
The truck, which was the second motor apparatus to serve the college town, was sold around the mid 1990s. Tt was purchased by the late Bob Biggs, a local apparatus buff and longtime friend of the Raleigh Fire Department.

Recall that he lead the restoration of the city’s 1926 American LaFrance. Biggs and Raleigh Capt. Mike Murray restored this truck. Bob passed away in 2007, and the truck was since sold to Gary Wales in Woodland Hills, CA. He gives Jay the full tour, and then they take the truck for a spin. By way of pre-restoration comparison, here’s a picture of the truck from Lee Wilson at Station 2, taken in the early 1990s.

Continue reading ‘Bob Biggs, Mike Murray, and Restoring Fire Apparatus’ »

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Wilmington’s Temporary Headquarters, 1954 to 1956

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Notes on Wilmington’s temporary fire department headquarters at 3 South 2nd Street, just south of Market Street, a leased building that was occupied from 1954 to 1956 during the construction of a new Station 1 at the corner of 4th and Dock streets.

The construction bid for the new Station 1 was awarded in September 1954. The former Station 1, built in 1907, was demolished in November 1954. The new Station 1 was dedicated on May 23, 1956. 

Read more about Wilmington fire station history.

Picture of photo on the walls at Wilmington Fire Station 1.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1955

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