Relocating Fire Station 1 – Update – July 2025

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This is an ongoing blog posting about relocating Raleigh Fire Station 1. See also the  official project site. 

Contents

  • Jul 2025 – Conceptual Site Plan
  • Feb 2025 – Documents and Permits
  • Dec 2024 – Professional Services Awarded
  • Aug 2024 – Design Services Awarded
  • Feb 2024 – Site Selected, Project Restarted
  • May 2020 – Project on Hold
  • Nov 2019 – Conceptual Rendering
  • July 2018 – Project Update
  • Aug 2017 – Project Update
  • May 2016 – Funding for Station Relocation
  • Aug 2015 – Station Relocation Objective

July 2025 – Conceptual Site Plan

This conceptual site plan was presented to city council on July 1, 2025, as part of an update on downtown projects from the City Manager’s office. The project is currently in the concept design phase, and has added a “public safety-themed playground” as a design amendment.

February 2025 – Documents and Permits

On August 20, 2024, City Council approved a consent agenda that included authorization for the city manager to execute certain documents and permits as related to the design and permitting process. 

The agenda item included this project description:  “The new Fire Station No. 1 will be located at the intersection of Salisbury Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard at 820 S Salisbury Street.  The new facility will replace the current facilities for Fire Station No. 1 (Dawson Street), Fire Administration (Dillon Building), and backup 911 program services (Raleigh Municipal Building). The new fire station will accommodate the City’s growing needs and provide facility upgrades for the wellness and safety of fire personnel.  This will be a critical emergency response facility that will house two (2) engine companies, one (1) ladder company, and one (1) battalion chief.”

View agenda item.

Project site – March 4, 2025

December 2024 – Professional Services Awarded Continue reading ‘Relocating Fire Station 1 – Update – July 2025’ »

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Albemarle Rescue Squad, 1953

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting.

Stanly County history hit. The Albemarle Rescue and First Aid Company was using this truck in February 1953, reported the Stanley News and Press on February 27. The new truck had “already answered several calls” after having “just received the final touches, as far as equipment was concerned.”

The truck was purchased as a result of a Lions Club project, with help from other civic groups. It’s kept at the main fire station and was available for emergency or rescue work anywhere in the county. The squad members were to be trained in classes starting Monday night.

Looking at other articles from the period, the idea of a local rescue squad was reported in September 1950, as local civilian defense initiatives were outlined after the county established several CD committees. Albemarle Fire Chief C. E. Morris had the responsibility of organizing and training a rescue squad. [SNP, 9/29/50]

The following month, news reported that a movement had started among the Albemarle Lions Club to establish a “fully-equipped rescue squad” for the city and county. They would start raising money. [SNP, 10/20/50] By the next month, numerous donated supplies had been procured, from first aid equipment to a resuscitator to a cutting torch to a Scott Air-Pak. [SNP, 11/28/50]

By November of the following year, they were raising money to buy a truck, for the planned rescue squad. And they already had a large amount of donated equipment. [SNP, 11/23/51]

By February 1, 1952, a Ford panel truck had been ordered from the Auten-Wolfe Motor Company, for their bid price of $2,44.31. The truck was purchased with money raised by the Lions Club. The city fire chief was still leading the effort to organize the squad. The truck was expected to be delivered in about 60 days. [SNP, 2/1/52]

By June 20, 1952, the rescue truck was reported as “almost completely equipped” and “would answer an emergency call if one arose.” However, a few items were still needed, including a generator and a siren. A boat had been ordered and a trailer would be built for transporting same. Cabinets had been constructed inside the van and most of the equipment was already in place. [SNP, 6/20/52]

Also called a “Ford Vanette,” the unit was housed at the fire department, and was AFD’s only rescue truck until late 1957 or early 1958. At that time, the Albemarle Rescue Squad was re-organized as Stanly County Rescue Squad. The truck was disposed to the new organization and painted white.

In 1973, a new rescue truck was purchased and the 1952 van became the squad’s second unit. After a newer rescue truck was purchased in 1981, the squad moved to donate the vehicle to serve local residents. In 1982, it was donated to the city parks and recreation department and was used as a maintenance van. In 1989, the van was traded to Confederate Chevrolet and later sold to a pair of private owners.

In 1990, the van was purchased from Ron Childers’ Crown Automobile, by Joyce Hill, owner and operator of the mobile mechanic service Travelube. The van was brought back to Albemarle, painted yellow, re-lettered, and returned to “tip-top shape.”

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Roanoke Rapids Fleet History

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This is a blog version of a Facebook posting.

Midweek montage. How about a fleet history of Roanoke Rapids Fire Department from Halifax County, NC? Readers, what’s missing?

Photo credits include the late Wayne Greer and local legend Lee Wilson. See more from Lee on his Flickr page. Hint: Search on Roanoke.

Shown Above

1929 Chevy/Barton pumper, 350/500. Bought/built new, when department was organized that year.

1914 American LaFrance Type 10 chemical/hose truck
Reg #7263. Shipped to Lumberton on 6/15/14. Sold to Roanoke Rapids on 11/29/35.
Example catalog photo, not Roanoke Rapids

1935 American LaFrance 475 RB, 750/___
Reg #L-725. Shipped 11/15/35. Delivered 11/21/35. [RRDH, 11/21/35]
Sold/disposed to Roanoke Rapids Jaycees in 1978?
Example picture from Google, not Roanoke Rapids

1948 American LaFrance 700 Series Invader, 1250/250
Reg #L-3366. Shipped 2/13/48

197_ Ford C/Howe
Wayne Greer photo

198_ Ford C/Pierce
Wayne Greer photo

1991 E-One Cyclone, 1250/500
Wayne Greer Photo

1998 KME aerial ladder
Lee Wilson photo, April 2011

2005 Pierce Arrow XT, 1500/750/30
Lee Wilson photo, August 2015

2013 E-One quint, 1500/500/78-foot
Lee Wilson photo, August 2015

2024 E-One Typhoon, 1500/750
Fire Connections photo

2025 E-One Typhoon, 1500/750
Fire Connections photo

20?? Ford F-550/____ brush/utility
Lee Wilson photo, August 2015

20?? International/____ rescue/utility
Lee Wilson photo, August 2015

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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 county 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 Southport 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 officials later 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 Corps 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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