Found for sale on eBay, vintage magazine advertisement showing 1944 Ford/Oren pumper. Built by the Oren Fire Apparatus Company of Roanoke, VA. Click to enlarge:
The truck was the second fire engine operated by the Johnston County town. It later served the Brookville (?) Fire Department, and was later privately owned in Iowa. It was returned to Kenly in November 2012. Here’s a Legeros Fire Blog Archives posting from 2013 about the truck.
Lee Wilson photo
Found for sale on eBay, two 35mm slide scans. (One is darker due to underexposure during scanning, most likely.) Original photographer credit unknown.
Left is old Engine 4, a 1997 E-One Cyclone II, 1250/500. Right is old Engine 6, a 1990 Duplex D-500/E-One, 1250/500. Readers can check/correct my data.
Here’s a Legeros Blog Fire Archives posting with a first-stab at a DFD fleet listing, from 2014.
Click to slightly enlarge:
News from our friends to the north.
Commemorating six decades of service to the Town of Warrenton, the Central Warren Fire District, and surrounding communities, the Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a formal Firefighters Ball on Saturday, October 22, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at Warren County Armory Civic Center, 501 US 158 Business Highway, Warrenton, NC.
The Firefighters Ball is open to the public and all firefighters, both local and from a far. Or a fire! Dress blues, kilts, and evening gowns are appropriate for this event. Departments are encouraged to bring their antique fire apparatus.
Music will be provided by The Central Park Band. An open bar and complementary heavy hors d oeuvres will be provided. Advance tickets are $50 per person. Tickets are available from any WRFD member. Here’s a Facebook page about the event.
For more information, contact Captain John W. Franks, jwmfranks@aol.com, (252) 820-0513.
History of Warrenton Rural VFD
Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire Department began service with a home-made tanker converted from an old 1946(?) Chevrolet surplus school bus. The tanker had a 1,000 gallon unbaffled tank and a converted pump that ran off pulleys & belts connected to a PTO. Fire hoses connected to the pump ran out the side door. The truck was designated as No. 1 and affectionately dubbed The Ugly Duckling.
Warren Record photo
The department s first call was a house fire on Wednesday, April 20, 1956, around 11:30 pm, at a farm about three miles south of Warrenton. Upon their arrival they found a burning house on the ground, two outbuildings on fire, and a grass and woods fire threatening a tobacco barn. No. 1 and five firefighters responded and extinguished the flames.
In its early years Warrenton Rural continued to acquire surplus vehicles and through many hours of labor its firemen continued to convert them into fire apparatus.
Warren Record photo
Because there were only two other fire departments in Warren County in 1956 (i.e., Town of Warrenton FD and Town of Norlina FD), Warrenton Rural made a long-range plan to set up auxiliary fire companies in outlying areas of Warren County to decrease response times.
As local communities came together to build stations for the auxiliary fire companies and to supply men to staff the stations, Warrenton Rural provided them with fire trucks.
Warren Record
Over the next decade, Warrenton Rural VFD organized auxiliary fire companies in the communities of Inez (1957), Arcola (1958), Afton-Elberon (1962), Drewry (1963), Wise (1965), and Macon (1969). All of these auxiliary companies later became their own fire departments. And all but Drewry VFD provide automatic mutual aid to Warrenton VFD.
In 2004, the Town of Warrenton Fire Department merged with the Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire Department. The town fire department was staffed by black firefighters. It was organized in 1868 as the Plummer Hook & Ladder Company and was North Carolina s oldest all-black volunteer fire company.
[Here’s some history on the town’s black fire department, from the research compiled by the late Chuck Milligan.]
Today, Warrenton Rural VFD remains an all-volunteer fire department that runs three engines, one aerial platform, one rescue truck, one brush truck, and one utility/first responder truck. They have an ISO rating of 4 for the town fire district and a 6/9E rating for the Central Warren rural district, which they received in 2014.
John W. Franks photo
The Kannapolis Fire Department in Cabarrus County is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. To commemorate the event, the public is invited to an open house and parade on Saturday, October 1.
The parade begins at 10:00 a.m. at the intersection of Laureate Way and Biotechnology Lane, and will continue down Laureate to North Research Campus Drive. It will be followed by an outdoor open house until 3:00 p.m. at City Hall, 401 Laureate Way.
Here’s a Facebook event page.
Tracy Winecoff photos
History
The Kannapolis Fire Department was organized in 1906, as a volunteer fire department to protect Cannon Mills and the surrounding mill village. They operated two hand hose reels and were supplied by the town’s four fire hydrants, which were connected to the factory’s water works.
Because there were so many hose reel teams across the state, reel team competitions became a popular event at the annual North Carolina firemen’s convention. The local team won many of the contests. In 1933, the Kannapolis reel team set what were called world’s records of 15 4/5 seconds in the reel race and 15 3/5 seconds in the grab race.
With the onset of World War I, the fire department was disbanded and for several years no organized fire protection was available in the growing village. In 1928 the Kannapolis Fire Department was reorganized. Most members came from the local merchants association and from the mill.
The department was motorized in 1934, with the purchase of a used American LaFrance pumper. The first new apparatus was delivered in 1942, a Mack pumper.
As the community continued to grow around the mill village, pressing water and sewer needs led to the creation of two sanitary districts outside the village: Royal Oaks (1957) and Kannapolis (1963). Each organized their own volunteer fire department.
Changes in the ownership of Cannon Mills in 1983 served as a catalyst for the incorporation of the City of Kannapolis. On December 4, 1984, the largest unincorporated community in North Carolina officially became a municipality. In 1987, the two sanitary districts merged with the city, and the three fire departments merged into one.
The village fire department was owned and operated by the mill. With the formation of the municipal Kannapolis Fire Department, they ceased operations outside the plant in October 1987. The mill did not contribute any equipment to the city department, but all of their personnel were allowed to become members of the new department. Most became members.
The plant continued operating its own fire department until it ceased operations in 1997.
Read more about their history on this web page, which compiles earlier Legeros Fire Blog Archives postings.
Catching up on some older news. Congrats to the City of Raleigh, which was awarded a SAFER grant to fund ten firefighter positions for two years. From the agenda of the City Council meeting on September 20:
Grants
5.1. Grant Award – Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency – Fire and Emergency Response
Andrew Langan, Fire
The City has been awarded $1,277,340 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund 10 firefighters for a period of two years, including salary and benefits, which will supplement existing engine company staffing levels.
The DHS FEMA Grant Programs Directorate Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant supports the operating budget request for supplemental staffing, and enables the Fire Department to continue to work towards compliance with recommended staffing levels set forth by local and national standards. The additional personnel provided by the grant funding will provide first responder services and contribute to the quality of life and safety of the community. On March 17, 2016, the Grants Committee reviewed and authorized submission of the SAFER grant application. On August 26, 2016, the City received official award notification; no city match is required for this grant. The City will be responsible for the ongoing cost of the additional personnel following the two-year performance period of this grant. A budget amendment in the amount of $1,277,340 is necessary to appropriate the grant proceeds; accounting details are included with the agenda packet.
Recommendation: Authorize staff to execute all required grant documentation; authorize the additional ten (10) positions supported.
Source document (PDF).
The Cary Fire Department took delivery on September 16 of a 2017 Pierce Enforcer pumper, 1500/500. Future Engine 5.Lee Wilson took the belowpicture,when the truck was at Atlantic Emergency Services in Fayetteville last week, before arriving in Cary.
Features include a New York-style (low) hose bed, lowered cross lays, ladders stored with the 24-foot to the outside, high-rise pack storage on the passenger side, New York hooks mounted to the back of the cab, and water can stored in passenger side hose well.
Lee Wilson photo
An identical version of the truck is in production at Pierce, the future Engine 9. Delivery is anticipated in spring 2017.
And below is a factory photo from Pierce of the new Engine 5. See larger versions.
Pierce Manufacturing photo
One of my favorite fire apparatus sites is the Facebook group Fire Trucks at War. Anything and everything related to military fire apparatus. Its run by military fire historian Ted Heinbuch, who runs the web site of the same name: www.firetrucks-atwar.com.
North Carolina military fire apparatus appears fairly frequently, typically posted by Pete Brock, our local military fire historian. This week, he added a trio of photos from the late Wayne Greer, of crash trucks at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. Shown are a Walter MB1, Oshkosh MB5, and Oshkosh P4A.
You can also search the group. Look for NC or “North Carolina” or such names as Bragg, Lejeune, or Cherry Point. (Also worth joining and searching is the SPAAMFAA group. Far fewer rigs from our state, however, over there.)
Great shots, from great people, who are doing their part to document and share the history of our nation’s military firefighters and their equipment.
Wayne Greer photos via Fire Trucks at War on Facebook
The Raleigh Fire Department has opened the application process for a new recruit academy. They’ve also lowered the age requirement for firefighter recruits.
The application process for Recruit Academy 42 opened on September 12, 2016, and closes at midnight on October 7. Applicants who are 18 years of age can apply, but they must be 19 years of age at the start of the academy.
The academy is anticipated to start by the end of February 2017. The application process is paperless. Visit the City of Raleigh careers web site to submit an application starting Sept 12.
Here’s the job listing. Starting salary is $32,673. Requires high school diploma or GED. Plus valid driver’s license. Good luck!
The next meeting of the Wake County Fire Commission is Thursday, July 21, at the Wake County EMS Training Facility, located in the basement of the Wake County Commons Building, 4011 Carya Drive in Raleigh. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.
View the meeting documents. Here’s the agenda:
Now for some color. Presenting a visual history of our fire departments. Take one.
Still working on a few details. Couple are noted on the chart. Still tweaking the thing as well.
Wish list for future features:
Thanks for everyone’s help with recent fact-checking and memory-poking. Most appreciated.
View as JPG (3.2M) | View as PDF (3.2M) | See more charts.
