Kinston Public Safety Splits Into Fire, Police Departments

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Belated news from Lenoir County. On July 1, the Kinston Department of Public Safety was split into separate fire and police departments. Local news–Kinston Free Press, WITN–have been covering same. The departments merged in 2004, when a special response unit was created of fourteen cross-trained police officers and firefighters.

The split originated after the retirement of Public Safety Director Bill Johnson on January 1. Since he left, the studied whether a joint department was the best continued direction for the city. Assistant Chief Don Crawford is the new Fire Chief, and Interim Public Safety Director Greg Thompson is new Interim Police Chief.

They’ve created a new administrative staff, which the fire department didn’t really have. (And which is required by state law for certain positions.) The staff is led by a new fire administrative captain, William Barrs, a former city firefighter and most recently a police crime lab detective. The position is now in charge of Fire Administration, which includes ISO ratings, city emergency planning, department safety, public education, and more.

Other staff members include Administrative Commander Earnest Davis and Training Safety Captain Michael Scrufari–both veteran fire department members–and Program Support Assistant Stephanie Harper, transferring from police. The news stories below provide more information about them.

Other details in the stories: The city has ordered a Pierce PUC pumper that’s due in the spring. The $600,000 truck will have a smaller wheel base, but the same amount of space for equipment storage. Readers may have other news.

In the last budget year, the city had these public safety division positions:

  • Administrative – 12
  • Law enforcement – 76
  • Fire and rescue – 47
  • Code enforcement – 4

The fire department has three fire stations with three engines and one ladder company. They’re also a new(er) facilities, erected within the last few years. Call volume? From April 18, 2014 to April 17, 2015, the fire department responded to 1,238 incidents. Mutual aid? Bordering and nearby are Hugo, Kinston Regional Jetport (cross-staffed by maintenance staff, if memory serves), North Lenoir, Southwood, and Wyse Fork.

What other public safety departments still operate around North Carolina? Butner, Havelock, and Morganton come to mind. Earlier ones were Chapel Hill (1971-1993), Durham (1970-1985), Knightdale (2002-2015), Washington (1996-1998), Winston-Salem (1973-1987). Readers, are there others?

Sources:

Related:

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Vintage Photo of Henderson Ford/Howe Engine by Tony Kelly

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Found for sale on eBay is this postcard view of Henderson Engine 5, a 1970s (?) Ford/Howe pumper-tanker. The back reads “North Carolina Fire Apparatus post cards, from the collection of Tony D. Kelly. Collection consists of approximately 200 cards such as this one for trade.” And with his address of “Kinston, NC, 28501.”

The late Tony Kelly was a Kinston firefighter and later Fire Chief (need dates), and a prolific fire apparatus photographer who traded pictures far and wide. Here’s a blog archives posting with a forestry plane picture of his, for example, from the mid 1970s.

Hopefully readers can share information on both (a.) Kelly and his background and (b.) this rig and it’s history. Click to enlarge:


Tony Kelly photo

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Guest Post – My Antique Fire Trucks by George Mills

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By George Mills, a former Chief of Bay Leaf VFD

Last year Mike asked to me write a posting about antique fire trucks. Here’s that article from August 2015, where I wrote about several restored and decaying American LaFrance rigs in North Carolina. This time I’m write about my antiques. Beginning with my first, a toy!

My interest in fire trucks started when I was about two-years old, and my parents gave me a working metal, tractor-drawn, Mack aerial ladder made by Smith Miller for Christmas. I still have it.

Above is a picture of my grandson, Dylan, and me laddering the coffee table. With stabilizers out, we’re at the corner of the building and a safe distance from the collapse zone. (Dylan is the son of a career firefighter in Hickory, NC. My boy started as a Bay Leaf volunteer and is currently assigned to HFD Station 7. His ride is a Rosenbauer engine.)

My interest was fanned further while growing up in Albany, NY, in the 1950s. There were many large fires in the old city and I tried to see each first-hand. Now, after forty-four years in the volunteer fire service, I am proud to say I have a second antique and full-sized fire engine of my own.

It’s is my 1920 American LaFrance Type 75 triple combination, #3281, originally served Painesville, OH. It originally cost $12,000 including the pneumatic tire option of $300, and was retired in 1954. I bought it from the estate of a collector in Pana, IL, in August, 2013. Here’s what I saw, when I first arrived:

I had been looking for a truck of my own when a fellow Bay Leaf firefighter found this on Craigslist, of all places. (There are three of us Bay Leaf volunteers that own antique fire trucks.) I bought it and have been enjoying it ever since.

Below are the six Bay Leaf members who came over to help me get the engine “in station” for the first time. The truck is hidden behind them! (Sorry about the blur. Don’t look too closely Mike Legeros!)

This truck has become a labor of love. It has to be! Ownership is expensive. I have spent nearly as much on the truck as it cost to purchase. Money that will never likely be reflected in its value.

Tires $4,000, hand crank siren $500, bell $1,000, ten gallons transmission grease $200, six gallon oil changes; the list is too long to repeat for fear my wife learns too much. She does enjoy riding on it to Goodberry’s for ice cream with friends, however.

After rebuilding the transmission (above left), brake work (above right), and freeing up the fire pump during the winter of 2013-2014, I took it to Station 1 and fed the waterway on Ladder 25.

That’s 740 GPM from a hydrant. It performed flawlessly pumping water for the first time in at least 31 years and maybe as many as 60 years.

Last summer it drafted 700 GPM at an Old Dominion Historical Fire Society muster at Claytor Lake, VA.

In April, we took it to the firefighter’ parade in Winchester, Virginia, for the 89th Annual Apple Blossom Festival (shown above) and came home with a “Best in Show 1920 to 1939” plaque. In the last two years, I have also paraded my truck in the Christmas parades in Rolesville (2014) and Wake Forest (2015).

Last month, I took the truck to the second annual Fire Truck Day at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. You were there, and took a bunch of pictures, as well as a video. Here’s the parade up Main Street, at the end of the event:

View on YouTube

The truck is always an attraction for kids that love to climb aboard to ring the bell and crank the siren. I enjoy this as well, unlike many antique fire truck owners that post “Do Not Touch” signs all over their rigs and have heart attacks when someone does. They are fire trucks! What can hurt them? (See below, also from Legeros.) I also enjoy demonstrating how easy it is to start by hand with the crank. It helps me stay in touch with the condition of the engine.

One of the benefits of ownership has been meeting new friends and exchanging information about the hobby with them. I am a member of two SPAAMFAA (Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motor Fire Apparatus in America) chapters: Old Dominion Historical Fire Society of Virginia, and the Rekindle Society, which covers the Carolinas. Both are great places to make new friends.

As time moves on, I expect to continue to improve the appearance of the truck, reinstalling a reel, adding stripping, adding hand lanterns. It will be endless, unless I buy another one, which may happen sooner than I think!

I invite anyone to contact me if they want to discuss anything about what I have mentioned. g.c.mills.iii@earthlink.net

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How to Easily Monitor Raleigh City Council Minutes & Agendas… And News Releases

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Here’s an easy means of monitoring Raleigh City Council minutes and agendas, and/or news releases for mention of your favorite topics. Say, the fire department:

  1. Sign up for the MyRaleigh Subscriptions service.
  2. Select such options as City Council, News Releases, and NewsCor.
  3. City Council minutes will arrive as email messages with links to Word documents. Click the links to open the documents, and use the FIND feature in Word to search for such words as “fire”.
  4. City Council agendas will be announced via email. You’ll have to navigate to the linked page, and then browse for the necessary link, typically labeled “First Tues Regular and Evening Sessions” or such. (These emails don’t contain direct document links. Mildly user unfriendly.)
  5. New releases will be linked in a weekly (Friday) compilation titled City of Raleigh Newsletter.
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Raleigh Receives Federal Grant for Fire Sprinkler Systems for Fire Stations 2 and 15

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The city has received a $151,155 grant from the federal government, to install fire sprinkler systems at Station 2 and Station 15.

Both of the facilities are part of a multi-year, multi-million dollar project to update fourteen older (legacy) fire stations. See page 14 of last year’s five-year strategic planning document (PDF) for more details. (Really need a dedicated blog posting on that project, for ease of linking. Will work on that!)

From the minutes (DOC) of the Raleigh City Council meeting of June 7, 2016.

FIREFIGHTER S GRANT FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY MANAGER AUTHORIZED TO EXECUTE GRANT; BUDGET AMENDED

The City has been awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant for the design and installation of fire sprinkler systems for Fire Stations 2 and 15. These facilities, which are part of a multi-year project to renovate legacy fire stations, were built in compliance with 1968 State Building Codes, neither of which contained a mandate for fire sprinkler systems. Current codes mandate that occupancies classified as residential providing accommodations for overnight stay shall have an automatic sprinkler system installed.

This grant opportunity contributes to the City s commitment to provide essential services, which include life safety of occupants and firefighters, confinement and extinguishment of the fire, property conservation, and reduction of adverse environmental impacts. A budget amendment in the amount of $151,555 is necessary to appropriate the grant funding; the required 10 percent local matching funds will be transferred administratively. Accounting detail is included with the agenda packet. The grant application was administratively approved by the grants committee on January 7, 2016.

Recommendation: Authorize the City Manager to execute all required grant documentation and authorize a budget amendment in the amount of $151,555. Upheld on Consent Agenda Baldwin/Branch 8 ayes.

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Garner’s New Engine 1

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The Garner Fire Department yesterday received their new Engine 1, a 2016 Pierce Impel pumper-tanker 1250/1000. It will replace a 2012 Pierce Saber pumper-tanker. By my count, this is their sixteenth Pierce fire engine, since the delivery of a 1984 Pierce Dash pumper 1000/700.

The new engine is the fourth of four Pierce Impel pumper tankers recently purchased by Wake County, as part of apparatus and vehicle replacements for this fiscal year (which ends on June 30). The other three were delivered in November to Stony Hill, Wake New Hope, and Wendell. See Blog Archives posting.

Photographer Lee Wilson has been following the progress of Garner’s engine, beginning with its arrival at Atlantic Emergency Services’ Pierce service center in Fayetteville last week. See his photos.

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Eight Line of Duty Deaths So Far This Year

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We learned on Sunday of the passing of Severn Fire Chief Kevin Britt, who died on Saturday after suffering a medical emergency at his home, after responding to a motor-vehicle collision. See this [FireNews.net] story as well as his obituary [link expired:http://www.rrspin.com/obituaries/item/12581-david-kevin-britt.html]. He’s the eighth line of duty death in North Carolina thus far this year, and third this month.

Later this morning, Firefighter Joshua Warren will be buried in Lincoln County. His body was escorted to the church in a procession yesterday. He was a member of Alexis, Lucia-Riverbend, and East Lincoln fire departments, and died on Thursday while exercising on-duty at a local school. See WCCB story (which has a browser warning about its security).

Here’s a brief recap of the eight fallen firefighters. All were volunteer members of their departments.

Date Name Age Department Cause Narrative
1/12 Joshua “Josh” Mequaine Woods 24 Siler City FD Vehicle Collision While responding to an emergency call in his personal vehicle, Firefighter Woods lost control of his car and crashed. He died from his injuries. Source: USFA. See also: Obituary [link expired:http://main.pughfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/9762/Joshua-Josh-Woods/obituary.html].
2/2 James “Jim” Ronald Varnell 53 Bakertown VFD, Elm City Medical Firefighter Varnell was attending training on Webb Lake Road. As he prepared to leave, he became ill. He was treated at the scene and transported to the hospital, where he passed away. Source: USFA. See also: Obituary.
4/30 Richard Sheltra 20 Pineville-Morrow VFD, Pineville Caught/ Trapped Firefighter Sheltra died from injuries sustained while operating on the interior of a commercial structure fire at a strip mall. Source: USFA. See also: FireNews.net article (obituary and arrangements) [FireNews.net article] (incident).
5/7 John Morris Davis Jr. 45 Kenly VFD Cardiac Firefighter Davis experienced chest pains after assisting with extrication at a motor vehicle accident at Princeton Kenly and Hinnant Edgerton roads While en route to the hospital, he went into cardiac arrest. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful and he passed away. Source: USFA.
5/12 Prentice “Jay” Tyndall 45 Hugo VFD, Grifton Medical Near noon on the day after he responded to a fire call as a driver/operator, Firefighter Tyndall called his wife and complained of severe head pain. He was visiting a business and asked them to call 911. He was transported to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where a brain bleed was discovered. He was flown to Vidant Medical in Greenville, NC, where a procedure was done to relieve pressure on his brain. He was then flown to Duke University Hospital in Durham for further treatment. At Duke, surgery was performed in attempt to stop the brain bleed, but he succumbed to his injury on May 12, 2016. Source: USFA. See also: Obituary.
6/6 Bradley Steven Long 28 Sherrills Ford-Terrell FD, Sherrills Ford Drowning Captain Long and one other diver were searching for a missing 29-year-old man in Lake Norman when they had an emergency. A third diver entered the water after a Mayday was called. While the two other divers eventually surfaced, Captain Long never resurfaced. He was later recovered and pronounced dead at the scene. Rescue crews had been searching Lake Norman for the missing man a day prior to the emergency involving Captain Long, who was also eventually recovered. Source: USFA. See also: Obituary.
6/16 Joshua Warren 34 Alexis FD Medical Firefighter Warren was on duty and exercising at East Lincoln Middle School when he collapsed while jogging around a track that morning. He was treated at the scene and transported to CHS-Lincoln Medical Center, where he passed away. Source: [FireNews.net], WCCB (which has a browser warning about its security).
6/18 David Kevin Britt 54 Severn VFD Medical Chief Britt suffered at a medical emergency at his home about midnight, shortly after responding to a motor-vehicle collision. He was Fire Chief of Severn VFD, and had been a member for 38 years. Sources: [FireNews.net] and obituary.
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Hose & Nozzle Stories, 1967 – Wake Fireman Breaks Leg, Winston-Salem Fire-Police Vehicles Damaged, etc.

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Random page of stories from the May-June 1969 issue of Hose & Nozzle magazine. Wake [County] Fireman Breaks Leg; Thomasville [Fire] Truck Involved in Wreck; Two Cleveland Firemen Injured; Winston-Salem Fire-Police Vehicles Damaged.

Winston-Salem fire police, you say? Here’s a blog posting about that entity, which was created in in late 1957. Looks like they were active until at least 1969! Learn more about H&N magazine.

Click once or twice to enlarge:

2016-06-13-hn

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Raleigh Fire and Police Want Higher Salaries

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Last week, on Tuesday, June 7, Raleigh firefighters, police officers, and friends, family, and supporters met at the Municipal Building on Hargett Street, in advance of a public hearing on the proposed budget for FY17. (See the budget documents.)

They came with signs and matching shirts (for fire)–“would you do this job 56 hours a week for $11.22 per hour” and “we can’t live in the city we protect”–and conducted a peaceful demonstration about their salaries. They want higher pay, and say firefighters and police officers deserve higher raises than the 3 to 3.5 percent increase in the City Manager’s proposed budget.

Speaking at a press conference held before the hearing, representatives from the Raleigh Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Raleigh Police Protective Association announced that they would jointly submit proposals for a 15 percent raise over the two years. They also addressed other issues, such as low starting pay in comparatively sized fire departments around the nation, as well as far smaller departments in Wake County.

Some 200 firefighters and police officers and supporters attended. Due to the large number of attendees, two conference rooms were opened on the third-floor for remote viewing. The hearing was also broadcast to a pair of television screens outside the council chambers on the second and first floor lobbies.

The spokesmen for the RPFFA and RPPA addressed City Council early into the budget hearing. This live blog recap from the Independent Weekly has a summary of their statements. Or you can watch the session as recorded by the Raleigh Television Network.

See also these news stories from WRAL, WTVD, and News & Observer[*]. And here are some photos from the event by Mike Legeros.

[*] Link now broken, http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article82335182.html

Want to express your support? Contact your local City Council representative. Their e-mail addresses are listed at the bottom of this web page.

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