Water Rescue Teams Operating in North Carolina After Hurricane Matthew

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Let’s start a list of the swift-water rescue teams operating in North Carolina since Saturday and the arrival of Hurricane Matthew:

Apex FD
ARR-MAC (Arrington FD, Mar-Mac FD)
Asheville FD (as TF2)
Cary FD
Carolina Beach FD
Chapel Hill FD (+ as TF8)
Charlotte FD (as TF3 and NCHART)
Clayton FD
Cumberland County SO (as TF?)
Davie County
Fayetteville FD (as TF9)
FEMA Task Force 1 – Includes MO TF 1
Goldsboro FD
Greensboro FD (as TF6)
Guilford County EMS
Henderson County
Lewisville FD
Lincoln County
NCHART – RFD, SHP, CFD, NCANG
NC Task Force 2 – AFD
NC Task Force 3 – CFD, split into two independent teams
NC Task Force 6 – GFD
NC Task Force 8 – RFD, DFD, CHFD
NC Task Force 9 – FFD
Etc.
(Are all NC task forces operating?)
NJ Task Force 1
NY Task Force 1 – FDNY, NYPD
OH Task Force 1
Onslow County
Princeton FD
Raleigh FD (as TF8 & NCHART)
Rockingham County
Rocky Mount FD/SERT
Salisbury FD
Smithfield FD
South Orange RS
US Coast Guard
Vance County RS
Wilson County
Winston-Salem FD

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Burlington Opens Sixth Fire Station

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The Burlington Fire Department recently opened a sixth fire station. Located at 3644 Bonnar Bridge Parkway, Station 6 was activated on Thursday, September 29. It houses Engine 6, Truck 2, and Battalion 2.

Engine 6 is a 2008 Spartan Gladiator/Smeal pumper, 1500/750. Truck 2 is a 2010 Spartan Gladiator/Smeal rear-mounted aerial ladder, 2000/350/105-foot. Battalion 2 is a 2015 Ford, and it was newly activated on the same day.

The city now has two battalions. Battalion 1 is comprised of Stations 1 , 2, and 3, in the eastern part of town. Battalion 2 covers Stations 4, 5, and 6, which is predominately the western side. The fire station cost $3.1 million, and fifteen people were hired to staff the new station.

Photos are from Lee Wilson, who visited the station a bit after their open house finished on October 6. Click to enlarge:

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NC USAR Task Force 8 Deploys to New Bern From Raleigh

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This afternoon, Thursday, October 6, North Carolina Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) Task Force 8 deployed a Type II Water Rescue team to New Bern, NC, to be on standby for Hurricane Matthew.

The fourteen members and their four vehicles departed from the Raleigh Fire Department Keeter Training Center at 1:15 p.m. They deployed two swift-water rescue units with boat trailers, a logistics and support unit, and a command vehicle.

NC USAR Task Force 8 is comprised of members from the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill fire departments, and Wake County EMS. They’re one of seven task force teams in the state. See this DPS site for more information:

Story and photo credits from NC Task Force 8, via their Facebook page. Click to enlarge:

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Raleigh’s New Shop Truck

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The Raleigh Fire Department recently received a new shop truck, a 2016 Ford F-450/Khapheide utility truck.

Designated Car 321, it’s used by Fleet Services for the on-call mechanic. It was placed in service on Wednesday, September 21.

It replaces a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pick-up truck. And it supplements Car 320, which is the department’s “mobile shop,” a 2000 Freightliner FL60/American LaFrance/MedicMaster retired rescue truck.

Fleet Services is located at the department’s Support Services Center at 4120 New Bern Avenue.

Lee Wilson photos

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North Carolina Fallen Firefighters to be Honored at National Memorial Service – October 9, 2016

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The 35th Annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service will honor three firefighters from North Carolina who who died in the line of duty last year.

They are among the 79 firefighters who died in 2015, and 33 firefighters who died in previous years who will be remembered at the official national service at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD, on Sunday, October 9.

  • Lt. Christopher J. Daniels, age 40, of the Pine Level VFD died after completing required physical fitness training on August 17, 2015.
  • Capt. James A. Hicks, age 44, of the NCANG Fire and Emergency Services died after he became ill while fighting a residential structure fire on July 27, 2015.
  • Lt. Carl C. Phillips, age 41, of the Locke Township Fire Department died of a heart attack several hours after he responded to a fatal motor vehicle accident on August 27, 2015.

Their names will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the Academy grounds. The national tribute is sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration.

Thousands are expected to attend the service, including families and friends of the fallen firefighters, members of Congress, Administration officials and other dignitaries. Families will receive flags flown over the U. S. Capitol and the National Memorial. Members of the fire service, honor guard units and pipe and drum units from across the country will participate in this national tribute.

View a complete list of fallen firefighters being honored. Or for a historical perspective, see Mike’s stories and database of NC fallen firefighters.

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Wake County Rural Fire Protection Progress Report – 1956 to 1957

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From a report received around June 1, 1957, and probably covering the prior fiscal year.

Rural fire departments established in ten communities in Wake County:

  • Zebulon
  • Apex
  • Cary
  • Garner
  • Fuquay-Varina
  • Morrisville
  • Knightdale
  • Wake Forest
  • Six Forks
  • Wendell.

Others are in the process of organizing, and some are about ready to begin purchasing equipment. These departments have 242 volunteer members and “are rendering the people of the county a service that cannot be estimated in dollars and cents.”

Summary of calls of the nine departments that have been operating the longest (all of the above, except Wendell):

  • 241 fires fought
  • 20 industrial and business buildings
  • 62 dwellings and outhouses
  • 44 grass and woods fires
  • 44 autos and trucks
  • 15 tobacco barns
  • 65 other types of fires.

Value of property:

  • $223,010 worth of property destroyed
  • $350,500 worth of property that was on fire, and saved
  • $549,200 worth of property that was adjacent, and would have burned

One life saved. Plus a “large variety of community services” also performed by “these men.”

Source: Resolution adopted by Wake County Commissioners on June 3, 1957, and as presented to Col. David L. Hardee, director of Organizations For Civil Defense in Raleigh.

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Mapping the Original Locations of the Six Forks Fire Department

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Diagram of the first original locations of the Six Forks Fire Department. They were organized in 1956, and incorporated on June 5. 

Their first fire engine was a 1956 Ford/American/Barton pumper housed in a converted barn behind Howell’s Store at 4129 Six Forks Road. The structure was begin used as such by September 1956.

Their second fire station was a tin structure in the 4400 block of Six Forks Road, about mid-block. It housed the 1956 pumper and a military surplus 6×6 tanker. The fire station was erected by March 1959.

Read more about the history of the Six Forks Fire Department.

Below is a modern GIS map and a March 1959 aerial photo. The GIS map is annotated based on the aerial photo.

The aerial photo is cropped from a larger version that was annotated by Ron Jones on the Facebook group You knew you grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, when…

Click once or twice to enlarge.

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Wake County Fire History – Closures & Mergers

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For your Sunday evening enjoyment, here’s a grab bag of historical bits, about fire station closures and fire department mergers in Raleigh and Wake County.

There have been but a handful of note.

Closures

(Not counting station re-locations within 2.5 miles)

  • 1960 – Western Boulevard FD
  • 1982 – Wake Forest FD #2
  • ca. 1992 – Durham Highway FD – Station 1 on Davis Drive
  • 1993 – Raleigh FD – Station 4 on Wake Forest Road
  • 2008 – Western Wake FD – Station 2 on Chapel Hill Road, old Yrac FD

Mergers

(Not counting rural department mergers with their respective municipalities, or vice versa)

  • 2002 – Six Forks FD > Bay Leaf FD
  • 2013 – Falls FD > Wake Forest FD

The document pulls heavily from the 2004 TriData study and Wake County Fire Commission minutes over the years.

Take a look, see what you think, and what ways the document could be made better. Such as, perhaps, splitting closures and mergers into separate sections.

View the history page.

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The First Meeting of the Wake County Fire Commission – November 24, 1998

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Digging through the early years of the Wake County Fire Commission this morning. They were created as an advisory board in 1998, as a recommendation of a 1994 fire service study, and supplanted the Wake Council Fire Chief’s Council, which previously served that role.

They discussed such things as:

  • Meeting dates, time, and location.
  • Role of the commission.
  • Contract and contracts.
  • Personnel retention and recruitment programs.
  • ISO and consultant reports.
  • Appointed subcommittees for Capital Improvement Projects, Budget Review, Contract and Performance Requirements, and Planning.
  • The planned 800MHz radio system.
  • Current priority issues of the commission.
  • Funding distribution/service district budget development.

Read the entire minutes of that first meeting by drilling down into www.legeros.com/ralwake/docs/wcfc.

I’ve conveniently downloaded as both individual and compiled files from the official site.

Who’s Who

Present and accounted for were these familiar names:

  • Blaine Parks, Citizen/Consumer (Alternate) Mitchell, South Region/Primary [GFD]
  • Rodney Privette, East Region/Alternate [RRFD]
  • George Mills, North Region/Primary [BLFD]
  • Ned Perry, Citizen/Consumer [Retired CFD]
  • Bonnie Woodruff, Citizen/Consumer
  • Bill Stevenson, President of Firemen’s Association
  • Cloyce Anders, External Facilitator (Non-voting)
  • Ray Echevarria, Interim Director-Fire/Rescue Division
  • Ed Brinson, West Region/Primary [SCFD]
  • Max Ashworth, Citizen/Consumer
  • Tom Vaughan, East Region/Primary [WFD]
  • Chuck Sannipoli, Citizen/Consumer
  • Tony Chiotakis, West Region/Alternate [MFD]
  • A. C. Rich, North Region/Alternate [SHFD]

Absent were:

  • Ken Farmer, South Region/Alternate [FVFD]
  • Nancy Schwarm, Citizen/Consumer

Recognized were:

  • David Cooke, Deputy County Manager
  • Tim Lanier, Interim Public Safety Director
  • Chris Perry, Shift Supervisor-Fire/Rescue Division
  • Sherry Scoggins, Executive Secretary

More History

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Vintage Magazine Ad with Kenly’s 1944 Ford/Oren

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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

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