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Chartered by the Legislature in 1791, the Fayetteville Fire Department is one of the oldest fire protection organizations in the state. Citizen fire companies
first battled blazes with leather buckets. After a disastrous fire in 1831 destroyed 600
stores and homes, a hand engine from Boston was acquired. Named the Yankee, it was delivered by boat in 1832. Following the Civil War, two hand engine companies protected the town along with a hook and ladder company and bucket brigade. In 1884,
Chief of the Department Captain James D. McNeill reorganized the fire department and a Silsby steam engine was placed in service.
McNeill was also a founder of the state fireman's association
which was organized a few years later.
In 1893, a new water system was installed with hydrants capable of supplying
hose streams. Two hose wagon companies were placed in service. By
1901, the fire department consisted of 30 volunteers including the
Chief, one fifth-class Silsby steamer, and three hand hose reels.
Members were paid one dollar for each alarm answered. Fayetteville's first motor apparatus was delivered by 1914,
and the fleet was fully motorized within a decade. Seagrave and
American LaFrance supplied apparatus during those years. In 1947, the transition to a fully-paid fire department was started.
Located north of the city center at
1314 Hillsboro Street, the
original Station 3 opened in 1948 with an engine company
operating a 1923 American LaFrance pumper.
During the 1970s, it also housed a medical unit. In
1975, the facility was relocated to 3225 Rosehill Road. The 2,483
square-foot structure presently serves as a storage facility for
the Parks and Recreation department
Photo courtesy Dan Mafia, CFP-704
Fayetteville's first Fire Station 5 opened at 3296
Village Drive. Built in 1962, the one-story structure was relocated
one block south to 3040 Boone Trail Extension in early 2004. A
commercial developer provided both the land and the $1 million
building in exchange for the station lot. Upon completion of the new
facility, the engine house was demolished and a drug
store constructed on the site.
Photos courtesy Fayetteville Fire
Department
The first Central Fire Station
(left) was located at 121 Gillespie Street and almost on the same
site as an earlier engine house. Opened in 1908, the two-story brick
building housed both the fire and police departments. Apparatus at
the time
included two single-horse hose wagons and a fifth-size Silsby steam
engine. By 1914, the building also housed City Hall. The police
department and other city offices relocated to the corner of Bow and
Green Streets in 1942. Central Station was relocated to Bow Street in 1949 and the
Gillespie Street building was purchased by Stephen G. Worth.
He subsequently renovated the structure, which served as Worth Business
College. It was later razed for the Franklin Street Extension when the new county courthouse was built.
The second Central Fire Station
(right)
was located at 155 Bow Street. The two-story, six-bay station opened
on September 9, 1949. Land for the station was purchased in 1947,
when $15,000 was paid for the home of the late R. H.
Buckingham. The city already owned an adjacent vacant lot. Architect
Basil G. E. Laslett designed the
building and
Player Construction was awarded the construction contract. The total cost of the building was $102,270. During
its five decades of service, the facility also served as office
space for the Fire Chief, Fire Administration, and Fire Prevention.
The dispatch center was also housed at Central Station during the 1970s,
after a small annex was built in the back.
Units housed at the station over the years included Engine 2 and
Engine 7 (both in service at the station). The station closed in 1998, when Engine 1, Engine 11, Truck 1, Squad
1, and Battalion 1 were relocated to 607 Person Street. The old building
was purchased by a church and demolished about a year later.
Other Early
Fire Stations
Sanborn Insurance Map, 1914
Other early fire department facilities included an Engine House on Gillespie Street, opposite
of Franklin
Street. The one-story station was built by 1885. The fire
department had two hand engines at the time. It closed by 1891.
Another early Engine House was located at 502 Green
Street. Though the building was built by 1885, the two-story structure
began serving as an engine house between 1891 and 1896. The fire department had a steamer and three
hand hose reels at the time. It closed by 1908.
In addition to Central Station on Gillespie Street, two Hose
Houses were utilized around 1914. The small, single-story
buildings were located at 303 Davis Alley in Haymount and at the
split of Persons and River Streets in Campbellton. Each contained a
hand-drawn hose reel equipped with 250 feet of 2 1/2-inch hose. A
third hand reel was stored at Central Station, along with the
horse-drawn and motorized apparatus.
Located at 101 Olive Road in the Haymount community, Fire Station
2 is the oldest structure serving the Fayetteville Fire
Department. The 5,176 square-foot facility opened on September 13, 1941. It
first housed a 1920 American LaFrance pumper and the Fire Chief's
car. During the 1950s, a service truck was also stationed there.
Until 1964, the south side of the structure served as the Fire Chief's
residence. It also housed the fire department dispatch
center until the 1970s. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the office
of the Haz-Mat Chief occupied the space. Later used as a dayroom and
a classroom, that side of the station was converted to a history
room in 2002.
Since February 2002, the history of the Fayetteville Fire Department
has been on display in a history room at Station 2. Artifacts range
from helmets to nozzles to a working alarm box. The
electric-telegraph Gamewell box was once located on Virginia Avenue
and is connected to a working punch register. When the box is activated, the
number is recorded on ticker-tape. Numerous photographs are
displayed on the walls and behind glass cases. Other display items include dispatcher journals, radio logs, and newspaper clippings. Many of the
artifacts were donated by James H. Kyle Jr., who was the last
surviving volunteer member of the fire department. He passed away on
August 6, 2002 at age 79. Hanging in the room is Kyle's turnout coat,
complete with 75 cents in one pocket: enough to provide an entire
volunteer company with coffee and cigarettes after a fire back in
the day.
Fayetteville Fire
Department
Site is presently under construction.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps via
NC LIVE
Fayetteville insurance maps from 1885, 1891, 1896, 1901,
1908,
1911, 1914, 1923, 1930, and 1950 are available
online. Access requires password available from your local library.
After logging into NC LIVE, click Browse Resources and select Maps.
Charlotte
Durham
Fayetteville
Goldsboro
Greensboro
High Point
Kinston
New Bern
Raleigh
Rocky Mount / Wilson
Wilmington
Winston-Salem
A version of this article was published on
FireNews.net on September 20, 2005.
Copyright 2023 by Michael J. Legeros