Durham’s First Black Firefighters

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This content first appeared in a Facebook posting on December 13, 2019.

Durham Herald Company Newspaper Photograph Collection, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Here’s a bit of hidden history of the Durham Fire Department. Below is a photo the Bull City’s first black firefighters. They were hired in October 1958 to staff a new Station 4 on Fayetteville Street that served the preserved predominately black Hayti neighborhoods.

But as the subsequent clipping from 1949 notes, found last week, the City of Durham consider adding black firefighters nine years earlier. It details a special meeting between DFD, the City Council Safety Committee, and the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs. As expected, there were objections. [Then what happened? Good question. Future research topic.]

Two years later, the first modern-era black career firefighters were hired in Winston-Salem, with eight reporting for duty at Station 4 on Dunleith Avenue. They operated as an integrated fire company but with segregated living quarters. They became an all-black fire company by 1957, and the entire department integrated by 1967.

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Wake County Fire Districts Commission, 1954

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In 1954, the Wake County Board of Commissioners created the Wake County Fire Districts Commission. This was the first group to govern the new rural-serving volunteer fire departments that were being organized in the county. Below is the resolution that created the group, from county minutes. View those minutes on this site. 

RESOLUTION

September 7, 1954

WHEREAS, by G.S. Section 153.9 (39) the Board of County Commissioners of Wake County is authorized and empowered to provide for the organization, equipment, maintenance and the governing of fire companies; and

WHERAS, the Board of Commissioners of Wake County is of the opinion and have found and determined that it is for the best interest and necessary for the protection of the citizens of said County and their property to encourage and financially aid in the equipment, the maintenance and government of volunteer fire departments in said County for the protection of the public school buildings and farm buildings, and to establish a protective fire fighting organization for the purpose of civil defense; and

WHEREAS, certain fire departments, as specified in the fire districts of Wake County, meet the qualifications and regulations as outlined in this resolution and will, therefore, be established as fire districts under the minimum qualifications as specified by the North Carolina Fire Insurance Rating Bureau;

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Garner Merger Community Meeting

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Merger alert. The Garner Fire Department and the Town of Garner are holding a pair of community information meetings this week, about a possible merger between the two organizations.  They’ll be held on January 11 and January 12, see announcement below for times and locations.

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Wake County Fire Commission Meeting – January 12, 2023

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The Wake County Fire Commission will hold a regular meeting on Thursday, January 12, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., at the Wake County Emergency Services Education Center, 221 S. Rogers Lane, Raleigh, NC 27610. 

The agenda and meeting documents are below.  

View Meeting Documents

Recording

Afterward, listen to the audio recording, as linked from this page.

Agenda

  • Meeting Called to Order: Director Darrell Alford
    • Invocation
    • Pledge of allegiance
    • Roll call of membership
    • Election of a Chair
    • Election of a Vice Chair
    • Approval of Agenda
    • Approval of September 15, 2022 Regular Meeting Minutes
  • Public Comments:
  • Regular Agenda
    • 200 Club – Larry Stanford
    • Fund Balance Update – John Stephenson
    • Updates to the Staffing & Compensation Guidelines
    • Updates to the Fire Commission Rules of Procedures
    • Long Range Plan Semi-Annual Report
  • Information Agenda
    • Fire Tax Financial Report – Budget Analyst Aaron Brown
    • Standing Committee Updates
      • Administrative
      • Apparatus
      • Budget
      • Communications
      • Equipment
      • Facility
      • Health & Wellness
      • Training
      • Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Committee
    • Chair Report
    • Fire Services Report
      • Update on Northern Wake Fire Station Land Search
      • NCDOI ( Wendell )
  • Adjournment – Next Meeting – April 13, 2023 6pm
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Oren Fire Apparatus in North Carolina

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Let’s start a list of Oren apparatus that served in North Carolina. Pictured rigs marked with (*):

  • *Burlington – 1940 Diamond T/Oren – #RW&E-1363 – Legeros photo
  • *Cape Fear Rural (Lee) – 1953 Ford/Oren – Engine 51 – Lee Wilson photo
  • *Charlotte – 1953 Ford Big Job/Oren, 500/1000 – Engine 10 at Morris Field, high-pressure unit
  • *Collins & Aitkman (CA-VEL) textiles (Stanly) – 1947 GMC/Oren – #500 A-979
    Factory photo from “Oren Fire Apparatus Photo Archive” by Thomas L. Herman
  • Faith (Rowan) – 1971 IHC 1310/Oren mini-pumper, 300/300, S/N #2913
  • Fleetwood (Ashe) – 1966 Dodge/Oren 400/300 4×4 brush truck – Ex-Lorton, VA and Falmouth, VA
  • Fork Mountain (Mitchell) – 1977 Ford C/Oren, 500/1500 – #15099-V – Ex-Hanover County, VA
  • Granville Rural – 1970 Ford C900/Oren, 1000/500 – Ex-Stonewall Jackson FD in Prince William County, VA. Sold to GFD in 1985.
  • Greensboro – 1955 Duplex/Oren, 1500/240 – #1500 A-1481, first 1500 GPM built by Oren – Engine 1
  • *Greensboro – 1955 Duplex/Oren, 750/240 – Engine 8 – GFD Archives
  • Greensboro – 1957 Ford F800/Oren, 500/1500, #500-B-1570 – Tanker 1 – GFD history book scan
  • Jonas Ridge (Burke) – 1970 Ford C/Oren, 300/1200, #2789 – Engine 584, ex-Woodstock, VA
  • Lasker (Northhampton) – 197_ IHC/Oren – Engine 154
  • *Lexington – 1938 Ford/Oren – #RW-139 – LFD photo 
  • *Kenly (Johnston) – 1944 Ford/Oren – Lee Wilson photo  
  • Kittrell (Franklin) – 1946 Dodge/1948 Oren, 750/300 – Ex-Lutherville, MD. Bought by KFD in 1962. Later sold to Mitchner’s Crossroads in Johnston County.
  • Lasker (Northhampton) – 1976 International/Oren – #15017-0 – Ex-Eastville, VA, bought 1990 by LFD
  • Lewisville (Forsyth) – 1950 Chevy/Oren
  • Maiden (Catawba) – 1945 Chevrolet/Oren, 500/500 – #500A-900
  • Mitchner’s Crossroads (Johnston) – See Kittrell.
  • *New Bern – 1952 GMC/Oren pumper, 500/____, “George H. Roberts” – NCSFA conference program
  • Pikeville (Wayne) – 1952 International/Oren
  • Piney Grove (Forsyth) – 1950s Chevy/Oren
  • Pink Hill (Lenoir) – 1952 Ford F/Oren
  • Pitts (Cabarrus) – Ford F/Grumman/Owen
  • Rockwell (Rowan) – 1953 Ford F-750 Big Job/Oren, 500/500 – #500A-136 – Still on the roster
  • Rocky Mount – 1949 Ford/Oren 500/450? – Engine 6
  • *Rose Hill (Duplin) – 1942 Ford/1951 Oren – Lee Wilson photo 
  • *Rosman (Transylvania) – 1949 Dodge/Oren – Transylvania Times photo
  • Rosman (Transylvania) – 1972 Chevy C60/1949 Oren, 750/800. Sold to local rock quarry in 2005.
  • *Sarecta (Duplin) – Ford/Oren/Grumman – Lee Wilson photo 
  • *Scotland Neck (Halifax) – 1939 Diamond T/Oren – Still on the roster – Factory advertisement
  • *Shallotte (Brunswick) – 1954 Ford Big Job/Oren, 500/500 – Engine 1 – Micah Bodford photo
  • Sharon (Mecklenburg) – 1977 Oren, 1000/1500 – Former Mahopac, NY
  • Tabernacle (Randolph) – 1957 Ford Big Job/Oren
  • *Tramway Rural (Lee) – 1954 Ford F-600/Oren, #VP-HP-1414 – TFD photo  
  • Union (Lincoln) – 1945 Ford/Oren – #500A-898 – Still on the roster
  • *Viewmont (Catawba) – 1952 Ford/Oren, 500/400 – #500AHP1298 – Legeros photo 
  • *Warrenton – 1938 Ford/Oren, 750/150, # RW-134, open cab – Lee Wilson photo 
  • Warren Wilson College Fire Brigade (Buncombe) – 1954 Corbitt/Oren 750/500 – Ex-Wanaque, NJ
  • *Warsaw – Ford F-6/Oren, open cab – #B-1144 – Lee Wilson photo
  • *Whitakers (Edgemont/Nash) – Ford/Oren with front-mounted pump, “rural truck” – #500 F-1110
    Factory photo from “Oren Fire Apparatus Photo Archive” by Thomas L. Herman
  • *Wilmington – 1952 Corbitt/Oren, 750/__ – Shop #216 – Engine 3 – Legeros collection photo
  • Wilmington – 1952 Corbitt/Oren, 750/__ – Shop #242 – Engine 2

More Pictures

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Raleigh Run Numbers – 2022

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Here are the Raleigh run numbers for 2022. Historical numbers in this PDF document.

Overall

53,238 – Total Incidents
77,425 – Total Per Unit Runs

Unit Runs

E1 – 1,945
E2 – 2,494
E3 – 2,943
E4 – 1,500
E5 – 1,615
E6 – 1,505
Sq7 – 3,014
E8 – 2,114
E9 – 2,088
E10 – 1,970
E11 – 3,006
E12 – 3,037
E13 – 1,956
Sq14 – 2,069
E15 – 3,017
E16 – 2,515
E17 – 1,588
E18 – 1,494
E19 – 3,181
E20 – 2,037
E21 – 2,357
E22 – 1,875
E23 – 1,266
E24 – 1,344
E25 – 1,096
E26 – 1,669
E27 – 992
E28 – 1,185
E29 – 504

L1 – 2,098
L4 – 1,113
L6 – 1,499
L12 – 2,137
L14 – 1,317
L15 – 2,103
L20 – 1,065
L22/L25 – 941
L23 – 1,118

R16 – 1,361

B1 – 541
B2 – 656
B3 – 692
B4 – 456
B5 – 993

Safety Officer 14 – 1,108
Division Chief 1 – 124
Investigator 1 – 198
Chief Investigator – 26

80 – Air 10
70 – Air 28

57 – HM2
56 – HM8
08 – HM25/HM22
59 – HM27
39 – HM29
26 – Haz-Mat Program Manager

17 – Mini 7
22 – Mini 14
17 – Mini 28

28 – USAR 801
46 – USAR Program Manager

21 – ATV14
02 – ATV22
01 – ATV25

Busiest Engines

E19 – 3,181
E12 – 3,037
E15 – 3,017
Sq7 – 3,014
E11 – 3,006

Busiest Ladders

L12 – 2,137
L15 – 2,103
L01 – 2,098

Busiest Rescue

R16, baby! – 1,361

Busiest Battalion Chief

B5, yet again – 993

And that’s a wrap. See you in January 2024.

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Ten Years Ago – Future of Fire Service in the Fire Tax District

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Morning history. Random find. Ten years ago this week, the Wake County Board of Commissioners received a presentation from county staff on the future of fire service in the Fire Tax District, which comprises the unincorporated areas of the county plus the town of Wendell. The county funds protection in those areas through contracts with private (non-profit) and municipal fire departments.

The presentation noted that the budget for same could not be sustained in its present form, and that savings could be achieved through such strategies as consolidations and mergers, realignment of stations, and shared use of resources.

Further, they confirmed/affirmed that no property tax increase would be considered, until sustainability strategies were identified and pursued. Thus their action steps included identifying areas for potential consolidations, such as the areas around Falls Lake, Swift Creek, and Little River/Eastern Wake County. Also, county staff would begin meeting with the boards of the private fire departments, to share this perspective and begin discussions on consolidations and/or other strategies for long-term financial sustainability.

Then what happened? County staff did just that and some consolidations (BLFD + SHFD = NWFD), mergers (EWFD > KFD), and station realignments (RFD < NHFD Sta 1) happened. They also (and more importantly) embarked on a multi-year project to collect data, review data, and build a service-delivery model based on that data, to determine the “right size” for delivery in the Fire Tax District.

Readers, anything missing in that high-level take?

See the slide deck (PDF)

See these Legeros research notes for a big honkin’ historical perspective.

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Smallest Active Firehouses?

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from August 23, 2017.

What are some of the smallest active fire station in North Carolina, as of August 2017?

  • 1,040 s.f. – Penderlea Station 2, 363 Watha Road.
  • 1,700~ s.f. – Clinton Station 22. 
  • 1,786 s.f. – Durham Station 5, 2212 Chapel Hill Road. Built 1960. 
  • 1,838 s.f – Kannapolis Station 2 on Richard Avenue. Built 1963, former Royal Oaks Sanitary District FD station.
  • 1,950 s.f. – Inez FD (Warren County). Built 1950.
  • 3,249 s.f. – Durham Station 10. Built 1980.
  • 3,300 s.f. – Salisbury Station 5 – Built 1942.
  • 3,564 s.f. – Raleigh Station 3. Built 1951. 
  • 3,616 s.f. – Raleigh Station 12. Built 1973.
  • 3,687 s.f. – Charlotte Station 7. Built 1934.
  • 4,103 s.f. – Cary Station 9, Built 1975.

Others include:

  • Jason FD (Greene County), 6846 Highway 503 South.
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Raleigh Badge Numbers

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This content first appeared in the older blog on January 19, 2013.

Hey Mike, do you have a master list of all Raleigh Fire Department badge numbers[1], from long ago? Negative. Haven’t come across in 20+ years of research. 

Some clues have presented, however. This list of names, addresses, and badge and helmet numbers was included in a station log book in the 1950s. Notice that not everyone’s helmet and badge number were identical!

 

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Raleigh Radio Records Circa 1957

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This was previously posted in the old blog on January 19, 2013.

Found in a log book in 2012, radio records for the Raleigh Fire Department circa 1957. Guessing that date as Engine 7 isn’t list, though Engine 9 is noted, which was the second engine at Station 1.

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