Sanford and Lee County Rescue and Ambulance History

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Research notes on Sanford and Lee County rescue and ambulance history.

See Google Drive of source articles. 

1950s

1952, Apr – Visiting civil defense rescue truck was displayed in Sanford, and viewed by members of the Sanford Municipal Civil Defense Council and other local officials. The town, however, planned no purchase of such a truck. [SH, 4/3/52]

1958, Jul – American Legion Post 382 started organizing a rescue squad as part of the county civil defense organization. [SH, 7/21/59] The group was referred to as Sanford Rescue Squad and/or Lee County Rescue Squad and/or Lee County Civil Defense Rescue Squad.

1959, Jan – By this time, the county had recently acquired a civil defense rescue truck. County officials were looking for a location to house the truck. [SH, 1/8/59]

1959, Apr – Newspaper citations of a “Sanford rescue squad” and a “Lee County rescue truck” that responded to a drowning on the Cape Fear River. [SH, 4/25/59]

1960s Continue reading ‘Sanford and Lee County Rescue and Ambulance History’ »

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Pender County Planned Merger

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Report from Pender County. On June 19, 2025, the county board of commissioners, in a 3-2 vote, approved a plan to bring EMS and fire protection services by four (or three) private agencies under country operation. Shown is the timeline in the proposed merger plan, from this document (PDF).

The proposed plan will create a county Emergency Services Department that will assume all fire protection services provided by Pender EMS & Fire, Penderlea Fire, Maple Hill Fire, and [not?] Rocky Point Fire[1]. Plus the services of Union Rescue Squad. And with Burgaw FD, Surf City FD, and Atkinson FD (municipal departments) continuing to provide service in their county districts.

[1] From news reports, it looks like Rocky Point Fire will be excluded from the plan as presented in the document.

Total personnel pre-transition are 213 full-time and 38 part-time personnel. With 19 buildings and dozens of vehicles: 38 admin and QRV, 43 fire apparatus, 14 EMS apparatus, 37 other (boats, etc.).[2]

[2] The above numbers need to be adjusted with the subtraction of Rocky Point FD from the proposed plan.

Capital and one-time expenditures will include fleet rebranding and facility signage, as well as a $9 million fleet garage (already identified as a need). The final merger agreement outlining legal, administrative, and operational components will be completed by Dec. 31, 2025.

Read the county press release. 

Google for news coverage, including in-depth coverage by Port City Daily, such as this story.

 

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Two Alarms on Blue Bird Court – June 20, 2025

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Two alarms were struck in west Raleigh on Friday, June 20, 2025. Dispatched ~12:06 a.m. for 4706 Blue Bird Court. Two-story apartment building.

Engine 8 first-arriving, reporting fire in attic space. Engine 20 brought the supply line. Fire also/soon through the roof, from live power line found on roof and/or tree limbs touching roof.

Second alarm requested ~12:23 a.m. All crews withdrawn ~12:39 a.m. due to electrical hazard still present. Controlled ~12:41 a.m.

No injuries. Displaced about 20 people.

Screengrab from this WRAL story. 

Listen to the radio traffic. 

Run Card

Units on scene included:

E8 E20 E5 L14 L20 Sq14 R16 B3 B5 ISO14
DC1 A10 INV1
E16 E1 E2 L1 L6
EMS

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Bald Head Island Major Fire – November 20, 2021

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from June 17, 2025.

Looking back at the North Bald Head Wynd Fire AKA the Lighthouse Landing Fire, and which contributed to the reasons for purchasing the new apparatus. It occurred on Saturday night, November 20, 2021, and was one of the largest fire events in the history of Bald Head Island, NC.[1]

Here’s a new retrospective and recap, expanding upon our real-time postings during the incident and incorporating information contained in a third-party after-action analysis later conducted.

[1] Another major fire on September 30, 1993, destroyed 38 condo units. Here’s a prior posting about that incident.

Setting the Stage

Bald Head Island is located in south Brunswick County and is described by ChatGPT today as “a small, picturesque barrier island located at the southeastern tip of North Carolina, covering roughly 5.9 square miles, of which about two-thirds is land and the rest water. As of 2023, the year-round population is estimated at around 150 residents, though seasonal visitors significantly swell that number during summer months.”

“The community is known for its affluent and predominantly older demographic, with a median age over 69 and a high proportion of retirees. The island is accessible only by ferry [from Southport, 20 minutes] or private boat, and transportation is limited to golf carts, bicycles, and foot traffic, which helps preserve its quiet, car-free charm. The island includes a mix of residential areas, vacation homes, preserved maritime forests, and beaches.”

Continue reading ‘Bald Head Island Major Fire – November 20, 2021’ »

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Bald Head Island Major Fire – September 30, 1993

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This is a blog version of a Facebook Posting from May 4, 2020.


Photos by Bonny Banas (top) and [goes here] (bottom).

Looking back at the largest fire in the history of Bald Head Island in Brunswick County, NC. It destroyed ten buildings with 38 units at the Swan’s Quarter Condominiums on Wednesday night, September 30, 1993.

The fire was reported about 10:00 p.m. by vacationers renting one of the units, who saw flames through a skylight. By the time island firefighters arrived a few minutes later–the volunteers riding in golf carts, while others brought the island’s only fire truck–one of the buildings was ‘completely engulfed in flames’ and the flames had spread to a second building.

Additional firefighters from the mainland were brought to the island by the ferries Revenge and Adventure, that carried crews from South Port and Long Beach, and by the Coast Guard, crews from Yaupon Beach. Southport Rescue Squad members were also brought to the island, to assist Bald Head island medical personnel. 

Continue reading ‘Bald Head Island Major Fire – September 30, 1993’ »

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Navy Jet Crash in Hertford – February 21, 1957

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting on June 15, 2025.

Looking back at the close call of all close calls, when a Navy jet fighter crashed within 200 yards of Perquimans County High School in Hertford, NC, on the morning of February 21, 1957. Two people were killed and a third person was injured.

Retrospective is below. Read a few newspaper clippings in this Google Drive folder.

Crippled Plane Plunged

Located on Highway 17 just south of downtown Hertford, the high school had an enrollment of 500 students. And just minutes after the crash, hundreds of students would have been on the baseball field for P.E. And just before the crash, 115 eight graders had been out on the field.

The McDonnell F3H-2 Demon jet fighter was based at the naval air station in Oceana, VA. Witnesses reported that the plane was heading directly for the school buildings on a relatively flat glide angle. It was also on fire. Early impressions were that the pilot was still in the cockpit, but official slater said that trim-tab settings may have caused the “flat glide” instead of a “sharp plunge.”

As the “crippled plane plunged toward the school area,” reported the next day’s Virginia Pilot, it sheared off the tops of small trees about 300 yards from the school’s garage building. It then struck a corn field, then struck a shallow hole, then bounced into the air, and finally crashed into the corner of the garage building.

Dead and Injured

Inside was chief county school mechanic J. Van Roach, 55, and his assistant Preston, Morgan, 26. Roach stumbled out of the building, his clothes burning. Caretaker Raleigh Perry, from the cemetery next door, threw dirt onto Roach to extinguish the burning clothes. Morgan was blown out of the building and over the fence at the baseball field. Both suffered serious burns, and Roach died of his injuries at 7:55 p.m. that night. Morgan was reported in critical condition, with burns over 35 percent of his body.

The pilot was Ensign William W. Bell and his body was found the following night about five miles from the crash site, on the farm of Lee Winslow near New Hope, NC. His parachute had not opened.

The plane was attached to Fighter Squadron 82 at Oceana. It had left at 10:05 a.m. on a “routine training mission.” There had been no distress calls from the aircraft. Noted a retrospective in the Daily Advance on January 7, 2023, it had been making a run at targets at Naval Auxiliary Air Station Harvey Point.

Inside the School

Both students and faculty inside the school saw the crash. Said Science teacher Mrs. Joseph Nowell, “I saw the [plane’s jet engine] flying toward us and yelled ‘run, run’.” While eighth-grader Guy McCracken also saw the plane’s impact and told everyone “to hit the floor and that’s just what I did.” He recalled later “somebody [then] jumped on top of me and then we all scrambled out of the room.”

In his office on the opposite side of the building, Principal E. C. Woodard “felt a tremendous thud and the building shaking.” Leaving his office, he saw students coming down from the second floor, and returned to his office to signal the fire drill alarm. Said another teacher, “the school emptied in less than a minute.” Agreed Mrs. Nowell, “for the first time in a fire drill there was no confusion on the stairs. The kids came out fast and orderly.”

Emergency Response

The first crash report was called into the Coast Guard station at Elizabeth City at 10:58 a.m. Both the Navy and Marine Crops were immediately alerted. Continue reading ‘Navy Jet Crash in Hertford – February 21, 1957’ »

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Quads in North Carolina

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from September 28, 2023.


Shown are Hickory, Wilmington, Concord, Sanford, Morganton, Hendersonville, Henderson, and Morehead City.

Here’s a master list of quadruple combinations or quads that have served in North Carolina. 

Concord
1949 Mack 75, 750/250 – Reg #75-2-2349

Henderson 
1940 American LaFrance 575 CDO, ___/___ – Reg #L1215

Hendersonville 
1948 American LaFrance 700 Series quad, 750/[150?], model 775-QJO, reg#L-3451, shipped April 27, 1948

Lenoir
1934 American LaFrance Type 307, 750/___ – Reg #7513. Delivered July 1934.

Morehead City 
1928? American LaFrance, 1000/90 – Water tank possibly converted from chemical tank.

Morganton
1942 American LaFrance B-675-CDO quad, 750/150 – #L1880.

Sanford 
1939 American LaFrance 575 RDO, 750/100 – Reg #L-1090

Wilmington
1938 Seagrave, 750/___ – Reg #93140. Previously cited as 500 GPM. 

Not Quads But Service Trucks with Booster Systems

Charlotte
1949 American LaFrance 700, ___/___ – Reg #L3809
Truck 5 at Station 8, later Ladder 8 

Greensboro
1948 American LaFrance ALF 700-BSJO, ___/___ – Reg #L3712   

New Bern
1927 Seagrave  had pump, no water tank.

Definition

Four things define a quad:

  • full set of ground ladders (208′ or greater)
  • booster tank* (100 gallons or greater)
  • full hose load (1,200′ of 2.5″)
  • rated pump of 500 GPM or greater.

*On older rigs, a chemical system qualified as a booster tank into the early 1930s. 

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The History of Cecil’s Rig – Rescue Pull and Lift Frame

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from June 8, 2025.

For today’s rescue history, let’s take a trip to Stanly County (NC) . The date is October 15, 1965. On that Friday night at 10:26 p.m., a 1963 Chevy Impala lost control on the curve at Pee Dee Avenue and Tenth Street in Albemarle.

It struck a utility pole and then a concrete wall, trapping two people in the car. Two others were ejected, and one of whom died at the scene, reported the next week’s newspaper.

The Stanly County Rescue Squad responded, and it took 45 minutes to free a passenger in the back seat. Because this was long before George Hurst’s famous tool was being used by rescue services.

Cecil Smith was one of the squad members who worked the extrication. He kept thinking about the time it took to free the victim from the car. There had to be a better way, he thought.

Set to Work in His Basement

Smith was a city policeman in Albemarle and thus answered most of the car accidents that the squad responded to. As recounted in the Stanly News and Press on April 3, 2005, “he set to work in his basement” to build a solution. And it only about ten years to perfect.

The resulting invention was a device that could pull a car door, quarter panel, or steering wheel. It could also open two doors at once—either front or rear doors—using a chain-pulled hook on one door, and a pass-through beam on the other door.

Later, he added a lift, to raise the end of a car, tractor, or other heavy object. He also designed his device to be portable. It was easily broken down into component parts.

The rescue tool became known as Cecil’s Rig. It had no motors, nor hydraulics. And Smith himself used it at least twenty times to save lives. It was widely used across Stanley and surrounding counties. And in places as far away as Pennsylvania.

Perfecting the Device Continue reading ‘The History of Cecil’s Rig – Rescue Pull and Lift Frame’ »

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Norwood City Fire Department History

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting from June 8, 2025.

Looking back at the Norwood City Fire Department, that operated from the 1920s to 2016. Today, the Town of Norwood NC is protected by Center Rural Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. Below are assorted milestones and other citations from the local newspaper. See source clippings and more in this Google Drive. 

Early Fire Protection

1922 – Town fire equipment consisted of a chemical tank and hand hose reels. [SNP, 3/4/58] The town population in 1920 was 1,221. [Wiki]

1924, Mar – First fire truck delivered. It was equipped with a chemical tank. [SNP, 3/11/24]

1925, Jun – Snapshot from Sanborn Maps. NFD had a volunteer chief and “no organized company.” Ford truck with two 35-gallon chemical tanks, 150-feet of one-inch hose attached to each tank. Two hand chemical extinguishers and one ladder. Plus 1000-feet of 2 1/2-inch hose. No alarm system, used church bells and mill whistles. Fire station was one-story building behind town jail (still standing!) on Allenton Avenue (today Campbell Street) and beside water tower.

Fire Department Reorganized Continue reading ‘Norwood City Fire Department History’ »

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Asheville-Henderson Army Airfield Fire Department

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Morning airport history. From Western North Carolina, top left is a crash truck at Asheville-Henderson Army Airfield, a former airport that was located in Fletcher. Today, it’s the site of an industrial park.

AHAA opened as a civilian airfield in 1938 and was operated by the Army from 1943 to 1947. By the late 1950s, a larger airport for the area was sought and the Asheville Regional Airport opened in 1961, three miles to the west.

Continue reading ‘Asheville-Henderson Army Airfield Fire Department’ »

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