Raleigh Receives Third Tiller – 2017 Pierce Arrow XT

The Raleigh Fire Department has taken delivery of their third tiller, a 2017 Pierce Arrow XT tractor-drawn aerial ladder, 1500/200/100-foot. Job #30630. Delivered July 10. 

It was part of a three-truck order funded in FY17, that included a pair of 2017 Pierce Enforcer pumpers, 1500/500/200. Jobs #30631-1 and #30631-2. Those were delivered last month. See prior posting.

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Note: This factory photo was taken when the truck was lettered for Ladder 8, prior to being changed before delivery. See larger versions of the picture. 

City’s Third Tiller

This is the third tiller for the city, joining a 2010 Pierce Arrow XT (Ladder 4) and 2015 Pierce Arrow XT (Ladder 9). Changes since 2015 tiller include lower-seated ladder tip, sliding doors and window bubbles on the tiller cab, and unpainted roll-up doors on the trailer.

It’ll be assigned to Ladder 4 at Station 1. The current Ladder 4 will be moved to Station 26, and operate as Ladder 8. (The new ladder is longer, due to the sliding doors on the tiller cab, and cannot fit inside Station 26.)

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Lee Wilson photos

More Photos

Lee Wilson has been tracking the new truck’s progress since it arrived at Atlantic Emergency Solutions in Fayetteville last week. See his photos

See also these close views from Mr. Blogger, as well as a fly-by drone video.

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Mike Legeros photos

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Remembering the Bessemer Fire Department in Greensboro

One of the earliest “suburban” fire departments in North Carolina was Bessemer VFD in Greensboro. We’ve blogged about them before, but let’s take a deeper dive.

They were organized in 1942, upon the completion of a sanitary district, which added water lines and fire hydrants. By all accounts, they were not equipped for fighting fires outside of their district, in areas without fire hydrants. Thus they were not a “rural” fire department.

BVFD operated a 1942 Chevrolet/American pumper 500/200, and had some 20 volunteer firemen.

Greensboro Daily News – July 4, 1949

They also occasionally responded outside of their district, and fought fires as best as they could with limited water supplies. Also, at least in 1948, the city fire department would “stop at the line” if they were dispatched for a fire that was outside of the municipal limits.

The Bessemer fire station was located at 609 Elwell Avenue. The building is still standing. The land was sold to the sanitary district by Mrs. Effie Boone in 1942. The parcel measured 0.12 acres. 

It even caught fire once, on July 3, 1956. As the Greensboro Daily News noted: “Chief Ray Moore and Assistant Chief C. B. Swaney, on discovering flames eating away at the ceiling, moved the fire truck out of the building, uncoiled a few feet of hose and had the blaze extinguished within 10 minutes.”

Read the entire history of the Bessemer Fire Department on this new history page of mine: www.legeros.com/history/stories/bessemer

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Vintage Photo of Ford/Darley Derita Pumper, 1967

Found on eBay, here’s a 1967 magazine advertisement from W. S. Darley & Co.  with a factory photo of a Ford Super-Duty/Darley high-pressure fog pumper, from the Derita Fire Department in Mecklenburg County. They operated from 1950 to 1994-95. Click to enlarge:

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Watch For Archives Postings…

Pardon our dusty content, as we occasionally re-post postings from the Legeros Blog Archives. Several dozen postings are no longer available, due to technical mysterious-ness. 

Some we’re digging back out, and re-posting here, or as content on the Legeros History Site, notably under www.legeros.com/history/stories. Today’s crop consist of:

Eventually, much of that archive content will be re-purposed. Maybe all Raleigh FD stuff copied over here, all NC fire history over there, etc. Anyway…

Watch this space, and don’t be alarmed by things dated 2014, 2013, etc. 

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New Facebook Fire Page – Legeros Fire Line

Yours Truly has created a new/old Facebook page for his “fire stuff,” cannily/curiously named Legeros Fire Line. (Get it?) Easy peasy web address: www.facebook.com/legerosfire

Was previously named Legeros Fire Blog and with a slightly longer web address. For years, blog postings were repeated there. And Mike’s private Facebook page did dual duty of “personal stuff” and “fire stuff.”

Church and state have been separated. He’s now posting any and all errata to the new page, which is Public and doesn’t require any friend requests. (And much of which is also posted to Twitter and occasionally Instagram.)

Since activating on Friday, postings have included:

  • Apex Rescue Squad Ladies Auxiliary scrapbook scanning update
  • Charlotte’s old steamer gets tested – Duke Energy blog post link
  • End of Eras – How many departments ended operations on July 1?
  • Greensboro Record, 1978 – What if a plane crashed into a fuel farm?
  • Greensboro Record, 1944 – First rescue squad for Greensboro FD
  • Northern Wake FD – Pictures from Station 1 on their first day of operation
  • North Mecklenburg Rescue Squad’s final call, third-party link posted from YouTube
  • Steam fire engines in North Carolina – Links to my histories and photos
  • Stony Hill Fire Department signs-off, audio recording on YouTube, hosted by Legeros
  • Wake County fire station map of mine updated to reflect Northern Wake FD.

Check it out!

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Introducing Northern Wake Fire Department

Family Tree

See this family tree infographic: jpg | pdf | blog posting

Overview

July 1
At midnight, Stony Hill Fire Chief A.C. Rich gave the final broadcast of the Stony Hill Rural Fire Department, as they signed off effect at 00:00 hours, and began operation as part of the new Northern Wake Fire Department. Listen to that radio traffic

June 30
Northern Wake Fire Department begins operation on Saturday, July 1. Their marketing campaign rolled out this week, with information about their new organization, which consolidates Bay Leaf and Stony Hill fire departments.

They’ve created a new Facebook page, and a new Twitter account. They have a neat new web site, and have published a video slideshow on YouTube. On Thursday, they also issued a press release (PDF).

Media coverage has started, with stories from WTVD on June 8 and the News & Observer[1].

[1] Link now broken, http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article159032894.html


Lee Wilson photo

NWFD will operate from five stations with 28 pieces of equipment and 147 members. They’ll cover a 70 square-mile area that’s north of Interstate 540 and west of Wake Forest. They’ll be protecting some $6.71 billion of property, and some 33,000 residents.

Their fire tax district has been newly created, combining the old Bay Leaf and Stony Hill fire tax districts, and with some adjustments with land gains/losses to Durham Highway and Wake Forest’s rural district, based on closer unit responses. See this map (PDF).

Lee Wilson has been busy photographing their apparatus and stations, over the last couple of weeks. See his pictures in these two albums: NWFD 1/3/5 and NWFD 2/4.


Lee Wilson photos

Fire Chief Tim Pope, the former Bay Leaf Fire Chief, leads the command staff. He’ll have three Deputy Chiefs, Darrin Holt, Don Adams, and AC Rich, the former Stony Hill Fire Chief.

They’ll oversee four Assistant Chiefs, in charge of Operations, Training, Logistics, and Risk Reduction. Under Operations are two sets of Battalion Chiefs, two sets of team Captains, and four sets of station Captains. See this organization chart (pdf).

Here’s a collection of documents about the new organizations. Thanks to Chief Pope and his marketing committee for providing these and other information:

 

Over a Century of Service

Northern Wake Fire Department has a rich legacy, 115 years of combined service to the Bay Leaf and Stony Hill communities of northern Wake County. They were two of the earliest rural and “suburban” fire department created in Wake County.

There’s also another 46 years of history in the mix, from the Six Forks Fire Department, which merged with Bay Leaf FD in 2002. Six Forks was the first suburban fire department in Raleigh. See this prior blog posting with my family tree graphic.

Read histories of their departments on my Raleigh/Wake County history pages. Below are details on their station numbers and locations, and their fleet, which is newly numbered with a two-digit system replacing the earlier three-digit schema.

There’s is the second consolidation of two departments in the county’s history, after Yrac and Fairgrounds joined and formed Western Wake Fire Rescue in 1999. See below for a historical perspective on mergers and consolidations.

Stations

Sta Address County # Built Notes
1 11713 Six Forks Rd, Raleigh 25 2013 Former Bay Leaf Sta 1, site of original Station 1, built 1983
2 7045 Stony Hill Rd, Wake Forest 26 2003 Former Stony Hill Sta 1, adjoins site of original Station 1, built 1963
3 13116 Norwood Rd, Raleigh 36 1993 Former Bay Leaf Sta 2
4 15633 New Light Rd, Wake Forest 39 1997 Former Stony Hill Sta 2
5 1431 Lynn Rd, Raleigh 12 1974 Former Bay Leaf 3, and former Six Forks FD station, which merged with BLFD in 2002

Apparatus

Sta Unit Year/Make/Model Old Sta Old Unit
1 Engine 11 2009 Pierce Contender p/t, 1250/1000 BLFD 1 Pumper 251
1 Tanker 18 2013 Intl/KME tanker, 750/2000 BLFD 1 Tanker 257
1 Ladder 15 1999 Pierce Dash rear-mount aerial ladder, 1500/200/20/105′ BLFD 1 Ladder 25
1 Brush 19 2008 Ford/Seagrave brush truck BLFD 1 Brush 259
1 Car 1 2001 SUV BLFD 1 Car 1
1 Utility 10 2004 pick-up BLFD 1 Car 25
1 Boat 1   BLFD 1 Boat 1
2 Engine 21 2015 Pierce Impel p/t, 1250/1000/20 SHFD 1 Pumper 261
3 Engine 22 (Reserve) 2005 Pierce Contender p/t, 1250/1000 BLFD 2 Pumper 361
2 Tanker 28 2006 Intl/KME tanker, 750/1800 SHFD 1 Tanker 268
2 Rescue 25 2009 Spartan Metrostar/Hackney walk-around rescue SHFD 1 Rescue 26
2 Brush 29 2005 Ford F-550/Reading brush truck, 250/250 SHFD 1 Brush 263
2 Car 20 2007 SUV BLFD 3 Car 120
2 Car 21 2006 SUV SHFD 2 Car 26
2 Utility 20 2017 pick-up n/a n/a
3 Engine 31 2005 Pierce Contender p/t, 1250/1000 BLFD 1 Pumper 258
3 Engine 32 (Reserve) 2005 Pierce Contender p/t, 1250/1000 BLFD 2 Pumper 367
3 Tanker 38 2005 Intl/KME tanker, 500/2000 n/a Swift Creek Tanker 6
3 Rescue 35 2017 Pierce Impel walk-around rescue BLFD 2 Rescue 36
3 Utility 30 2017 pick-up n/a n/a
3 Boat 3   BLFD 2 Boat 2
4 Engine 41 2011 Pierce Saber p/t, 1250/1000 SHFD 2 Pumper 392
4 Tanker 48 2009 Intl/KME tanker, 500/2000 n/a Rolesville Tanker 158
4 Brush 49 2006 Ford F550/Reading brush truck, 250/250 SHFD 2 Brush 269
4 Utility 40 2016 pick-up SHFD 1 Utility 26
4 Boat 4   SHFD 2 Boat 26
5 Engine 51 2005 Pierce Contender p/t, 1250/1000 BLFD 3 Pumper 127
5 Tanker 56 2005 Pierce Contender p/t, 1250/1000 SHFD 2 Pumper 395
5 Air 55 2007 Intl/Hackney mobile air unit BLFD 3 Air 12

Notes:

Incoming Swift Creek and Rolesville tankers are part of a county-wide fleet changes enacted in the spring, and that included removal of county-funding for the retiring Bay Leaf apparatus listed below. They’re owned by and will be sold by the corporation.

Retired from Bay Leaf FD:

Pumper 121 – 2002 American LaFrance Eagle, 1750/100
Pumper 366 – 1999 Pierce Dash p/t
Brush 369 – 1992 Ford Super-Duty/____, 90/2000

Data Compared

  BLFD SHFD NWFD
District in square miles 36 34 70
Property  $4.96B $1.75B $6.71 B
Population 25,000 8,000 33,000
Stations 3 2 5
Personnel 80 70 147
Volunteers 51 30 82
Volunteer junior members 0 31 13
Full-time employees 14 9 23
Part-time employees 14 18 29
Call volume in 2016 1,115 465  

Historical Perspective

What mergers, consolidations, and re-organizations have happened in Wake County, over the decades? Here’s your history:

  • 1961 – Fairgrounds FD created, by members of recently dissolved Western Boulevard FD
  • 1999 – Fairgrounds FD and Yrac FD consolidate as newly created Western Wake FD
  • 2002 – Six Forks FD merges into Bay Leaf FD
  • 2003 – Eastern Wake FD created, with members and assets of Knightdale FD
  • 2013 – Falls FD merges into Wake Forest FD
  • 2017 – Bay Leaf FD and Stony Hill FD consolidate as newly created Northern Wake FD.

But wait, Batman, what about the various municipalities and their town/rural mergers? Those were:

  • 1972 – Fuquay-Varina FD (town) merges into Fuquay-Varina Rural FD
  • 1982 – Wake Forest FD #2 merges into Wake Forest FD
  • 1983 – Wake Forest FD (town) and Wake Forest Rural FD consolidate as newly created Wake Forest FD Inc.
  • 1980s, mid – Wendell FD (town) merges into Wendell Rural FD
  • 1994 – Morrisville FD (town) created, with members and assets of Morrisville Rural FD, plus prior town-paid employees.
  • 1997 – Holly Springs Rural FD merges into Holly Springs Department of Public Safety
  • 1999 – Fuquay-Varina FD (town) created, with members and assets of Fuquay-Varina Rural FD
  • 2000 – Zebulon Rural FD merges into Zebulon FD
  • 2002 – Apex FD (town) created, with members and assets of Apex Rural FD.
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Fire Department Developments in Pender County, 2013

This is a blog archives posting from October 24, 2013, and re-posted here as the original is unavailable due to technical issues.

October 24
Effective this month, the Surf City Volunteer Fire Department has merged with the recently created Pender Fire and EMS. As earlier parts of this posting note (click READ MORE), the private organization was created as merger of Pender EMS, Hampstead FD, Sloop Point FD, and Long Creek Grady FD. The volunteer Surf City FD, separate from the municipal Surf City FD, had planned to previously merge with the organization.

SCVFD had one fire station on Deer Run Road, with seven pieces of apparatus including two engines, two brush trucks, and three watercraft. They had thirty members. The department was organized 1974, renamed from Topsail Island FD. See these historical notes, from their web site and this blog. They answered 84 calls this year, through September 24. Prior call volumes were: 231 (2012), 258 (2011), 165 (2010), 149 (2009), 179 (2008), 217 (2007), 177 (2006). Continue reading ‘Fire Department Developments in Pender County, 2013’ »

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Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014

This is a blog archives posting from February 5, 2014, and re-posted here as the original is unavailable due to technical issues.

February 5
Reports this Herald-Sun story[1], Durham County Commissioners will vote next week to endorse (or not) the recommendations of the recently receive fire protection study. On Monday, the Interim County Manager provided a lengthy briefing. There was also some voice disagreements by a fire chief, on points related to staffing requirement and composition of governing boards. The biggest change suggested by the study involves southern and western Durham County. In both areas, it’s recommended that the city fire department be instead contracted for fire protection. 

[1] Link now broken, http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x849281197/Commissioners-mull-fire-study-s-advice

December 31
Here’s a copy of the entire study (PDF, 1.5M).

Notes and observations:

  • Three county fire departments ceased ambulance operations in 2012. Bahama on December 31 of that year, and Bethesda and Redwood on June 31, 2012. Parkwood is the only county fire department that’s also an EMS provider.
  • Newer apparatus is recommended, particularly for nine pieces of frontline apparatus that should be replaced. Of the 39 pieces of major fire apparatus in the five departments, eleven were manufactured prior to 1991.
  • New station locations are recommended for Redwood Station 2 and Station 3, which the study cites should be “farther out” to improve their effectiveness. The study also raises the idea of a Bahama Station 4 in the northeastern corner of the county.
  • See page 56 for a map showing the planned location for Durham Station 17, located just up the road from Bethesda Station 2. Don’t have any idea on timeframe, and the project isn’t listed in the latest city CIP budget document. Maybe readers can assist.

Continue reading ‘Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014’ »

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North Carolina Ambulance Service Study Results, 1965

This is a blog archives posting from August 30, 2014, and re-posted here as the original is unavailable due to technical issues.

On April 1, 1963, a two-year study was started of ambulance service in North Carolina. Questionnaires were mailed to 718 ambulance providers, the majority of which were funeral homes. They were asked questions in categories of (a.) organization, (b.) area served, (c.) availability of service, (d.) equipment, (e.) services rendered, (f.) personnel, (g.) communications, (h.) records, (i.) financial, (j.) auto accidents, and (k.) opinion. Plus other data, including call details for one specific week of service.

Also contacted were 183 hospitals and 52 nursing homes, 100 county governments and 355 incorporated towns and cities, and 119 users of ambulance service (during a single week in October 1983). They were also asked both categorical questions as well as for general opinions. The medical care facilities also provided data.

The results were published in January 1965 as Organizing Ambulance Service in the Public Interest. It included seven pages of recommendations, notably of standards and principles and the recommendation to implement via legislation. Read the report (6.5M, PDF).

Continue reading ‘North Carolina Ambulance Service Study Results, 1965’ »

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History of an Abandoned Bridge in Raleigh

This is a blog archives posting from September 5, 2014, and re-posted here as the original is unavailable due to technical issues.

Here’s a treat of a treat. Abandoned bridge over Crabtree Creek, just west of Crabtree Valley Mall. Specifically opposite Morehead Drive at Glenwood Avenue. Can be accessed both from the sidewalk on Glenwood, or a greenway trail on the other side of the bridge. And entirely unknown myself until this week. Talk about exciting!
 

Continue reading ‘History of an Abandoned Bridge in Raleigh’ »

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