This is a blog version of a Facebook posting.

Looking back at the Sedge Garden FD in Forsyth County. Photo from the Winston-Salem Journal, November 14, 1999.

They were organized by the Sedge Garden Civic Club and started operating in 1951. Though the project may have been suggested as early as 1949.[1] They were the first community fire department in Forsyth County.

They bought a 29-year-old old engine from Winston-Salem, likely the 1922 American LaFrance Type 75, 750 GPM, reg #3844. (It was cited as a 1921 model in the WSJ on August 30, 1953.)

It was parked at Milam’s Service Station. And from the photo, they soon added a 1941-47 Dodge COE tanker.

SGFD answered their first fire call on March 27, 1951, a grass fire at Parkview. They had been in the “process of being organized” for about a month. Robah Thomas was the fire chief.

And on April 10, 1951, installation of a “centrally-located alarm whistle” was completed. Their response area was divided into four zones, with teams of firefighters named for each.

[1] Decades later 1949 was remembered as the organization year. Maybe a false start that fizzled?

Then What Happened?

In 1953, SGFD changed their name to Triangle Fire Department, after a high school student submitted the name a contest, saying SGFD represented not only Sedge Garden but also Union Cross and Besson’s Crossroads.

In 1963 they dedicated their first (and only) fire station at 3260 Kernersville Road. It had three bays, classrooms, dirt driveways, and a dirt floor.

June 1963

Later Years

In 1983, voters approved allowing the county to levy a property tax to support several volunteer FDs in Forsyth County, including Triangle. This followed the impacts of annexations on volunteer districts in the 1970s, when such annexations began to hit the community FDS notably hard.

But the annexations continued. As did other changes, like the construction of Highway 311 and Interstate 40, over which no homes or businesses could be built, that generated revenue. In July 1991, Triangle VFD lost about a third of its $219M tax base to annexations.

On July 1, 2004, TVFD ceased operations. It was believed to be the first such shut down in county history. Years of annexation by Winston-Salem and Kernersville had reduced their tax base and resulting revenues. Pending annexation by Winston-Salem was going to take 60 percent of their current tax base.

They had about 24 to 26 people on the roster at the time of their closure, down from 44 members ten years earlier. The fire chief was Ken Matthews, who had served for two years.

On September 9, 2004, TVFD held a closing ceremony at the fire station to commemorate their history. They had also erected a historical marker outside the fire station, noting the the years of their “birth and death,” 1949 to 2004. (But with a typo? See earlier note.)

Fleet and Facility Notes

The fire station was disposed to the county, which renovated the structure for use as an EMS station. County commissions approved that funding in November 2005. It’s still operating as same today.

• Brush 316 was a 2000 Ford/Grumman, 80/200, disposed to Gumtree
• Engine 116 was a lime-green 1979 Ford C/Howe HR-102 1000/500/55′ Redi-Tower disposed to the county and conveyed to Belews Creek FD in/around February 2005. See photo at https://www.wncfirepics.com/NorthCarolina/ForsythCounty/Belews-Creek
• Engine 216 was a 1990 HME/Grumman, 1000/600, disposed to Salem Chapel
• Tanker 416 was a 1985 Ford C/Grumman, 1000/1250, disposed to Salem Chapel

Earlier rigs included:

• 1921/22 American LaFrance pumper, ex-Winston-Salem, see above
• 1942 Chevrolet, 100/300
• 1952 Jeep lighting unit
• 1953 Ford pumper
• 1973 Ford C/Howe, 1000/750, later sold to Jefferson, SC

Sources

• Twin City Sentinel, “New Fire Truck is Given Tryout,” Mar 28, 1951
• Winston-Salem Journal, “Rural Fire Organization is Completed,” Apr 11, 1951
• Winston-Salem Journal, “Triangle Fire Unit is Named,” Mar 18, 1953
• Winston-Salem Journal, “Triangle Department Plans to Build Own Fire Truck at Cost of $3,000,” Aug 30, 1953
• Winston-Salem Journal, “Crew Still Hot to Help – Firefighters toast first half-century with the Triangle Fire Department,” Nov 14, 1999
• Winston-Salem Journal, Gone Quiet – Triangle fire department’s work is done; ceremony to mark its passing into history,” Sep 12, 2004

See these and other clippings in this Google Drive folder.